Gundam Seed Harvest
by RavenDivine
Summary: Cosmic Era 107 – thirtyfive years have passed since the Valentine war era. After a raid at an unaligned space colony, Ciel must cooperate with ZAFT forces in order to survive Kira and the others prepare for war...reflects the events of 0083
1. Phase One: A Light in Obscurity

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: _HARVEST_

Cosmic Era Century –107

_"Space…ever expanding, its edge always beyond our reach, reflects the very journey of the human heart. As the fires of creation burned forth to formulate the heavens it left within us the spark of life. That same prominence that shaped the stars in peaceful chaos exists within, continuing to churn to life the emotions and experiences that can only exist contained in the madness of the human essence. As we dawned upon the stars leaving the planet that spawned our ancestors so long ago, the fire inside began to cultivate in us our next step in human metamorphosis. We grew to find our inner perceptions externalizing, desperate to escape and be free amidst the oblivion of space. The concepts of time, space, passion, and reason became the very weapons of the mind. Such phenomenal abilities have led the world to experience the totality that is the Newtype. This new clairvoyance and empathy of the Newtype allowed hearts to become connected and understood; however, we were not without conflict...-"_

The vastness of the stars took him by surprise as his eyes magnified them a hundred fold, piercing deep down into the very core of the galaxies beyond the cosmos. His concentration was stunted suddenly by the opening of an airlock door that led from the lab from the balcony corridor. The glowing fire that occupied his iris's dissipated as he turned to sense an approaching body. The sent of her was familiar while an air of indistinguishable energy followed. It was Naomi.

"Ciel, we're ready now. Torii says she has everything all set up for the plan," Her dark hair swirled in artificial gravity despite the best of her attempts to keep it pulled back. Her blood red eyes, although intimidating, never ceased to captivate the most curious of souls.

"Jeez! Even for Torii that was rather quick. Her mad Coordinator skills are getting better," Ciel said flushing with excitement. "There's no way I'd be able to get the security array shut down in time before the show!"

"Yeah, well there's no debating now is there?" Naomi flaunted her youthful voice in an atmosphere of an "I told you so" attitude. She cracked a smile brighter than the sun as she turned. Somehow even in semi-rotational gravity Ciel still managed to stumble clumsily towards the doors opening.

The brightness of the lab flushed his senses as he entered unprepared. His perceptions were still adjusting from using his abilities just moments ago as he looked outwards through space. An innocent shake of the head was an instant indicator to his friends that the transition was still taking place. A brown haired youth with green, sparkling, mischievous eyes took the mannerisms as an attempt to reiterate himself as he had done so many times before. He wore a pair of flight goggles around his neck for decoration.  
"What have I told you before about straining yourself?" Rock insisted.

Ciel allowed himself to let his telepathy slip just slightly before sensing a slight change in the way Rock would present his broken record ways.

"_I wish to God I could do that,"_ The two boys said comically in unison.  
Torii who was sitting at a lab table not five feet away cocked an eyebrow out of amusement as Naomi reserved herself a silent round of laughter.

"You're such a douche!" Rock teased.

Ciel roared with laughter knocking over a laptop on a table, which earned him a nervous and scolding look from Torii. Luckily though the gravity wasn't great enough to influence the object and the laptop simply floated towards the floor until Ciel caught it with his telekinesis. It floated only a fraction of a second above the tile floor before it rose back to its rightful place on the table.

Torii let a smile creep across her face as he shook her head out of scold for her doubt. There really was no need to be paranoid.

"Show off," Torii said rolling her eyes as she continued at her workstation.

Ciel shrugged it off as he hovered to Torii's side to investigate.

"So will we be able to do this?" Ciel said impatiently excited.

"Yeah, all I need to do is get past the security that's on Mr. Mikamura's station and then we have free reign over the lab," Torii grinned.

"Yeah and how long will that take?" Ciel sighed.

A small electronic ping echoed the answer to Ciel's question as the words "Password Accepted" flashed on the computer screen.

"Does that answer your question?" Torii giggled.

Ciel made a face and stuck out his tongue while doing an odd mid air jig to playfully mock Torii.

"Well that's a sexy face," Rock lulled as he kicked off his chair.

"Halloween's coming up pretty soon. Take a picture of that and put it on a paper bag and you're set to go!" Naomi joked.

Ciel's face soured with innocent defeat as he followed Torii to the tools lock. Not two seconds after Ciel made another funny face to get back at the other two youths.

"You can save that one for Christmas," Rock bellowed.

"Okay, okay, enough! Are we going to do this or what?" Torii interrupted. "This prank won't work if we fool around too much and I've gone through too much trouble to get to this-"

"Chill we're ready," Rock said patting Ciel on the back.

"Its total payback time!" Naomi giggled with glee as the plan had come to fruition.

Removing useless contents from the storage containment Ciel waited pondering how accurate this plot would be. Although he did manage to reassure himself that Torii would be able to help with specifics.

"Hey, and if all goes well lunch is all on me!" Rock exasperated with a rising fist.  
"Oh! Oh! Let's go to China Buffet! I'm seriously craving seong sou chicken!" Ciel requested.

"Dude we were just there!" Rock said with eyes narrowing with a slight displeasure.

"Hey! I'm the youngest and that makes me special!" Ciel teased again.

"Yeah, special ED!" Rocks comeback refreshed Naomi with a new batch of giggles while Torii fished through the storage.

Torii finished her rampant search and withdrew a helmet with various cords protruding from the back. This item was key to their revenge as the group raced back to the workstation with exploding zeal. The deliciousness of the plot was seemingly innocent and harmless but it would prove to be rewarding non-the-less if everything was done correctly. Without a single strand of hesitation in her work Torii placed the entire plug in cords to their appropriate terminals while Ciel placed the helmet on his head. The cranial apparatus was designed for a Natural to operate machinery remotely using brain wave lengths; however, with Ciel at the reigns of the machine his Newtype abilities would push science beyond its limits.

"Ciel get as comfortable as possible. We've only got a five-minute window of opportunity until security kicks me out again. I'll launch you to the correct address using the VR eye. From there use your telekinesis and telepathy to guide the instrument and record what you see. Okay?" Torii affirmed.

Ciel sat with legs crossed in the middle of the lab table as he began to control his inner breathing. Seeing Ciel in the stereotypical meditation position was quite the sight seeing as his outline began to wave back and forth like heat rising off of asphalt on a hot summer day.

Rock and Naomi each took a seat. Naomi placed herself by Ciel just in case she was needed for anything. Rock simply plopped down anxiously as Torii typed crazily. Torii was ready to for the go ahead until she saw a program execution that would have to be temporarily shutdown for them to go forward. Rock noticed first and questioned the hesitation.

"What is it? What's the matter?"

The screen read: Radar.exe\plnt.exterior-ffT67280\gov.

"Listen we're still going to get that bastard for what he did but we've got to speed it up. If we use the security VR eye it temporarily shuts off the Plants exterior monitoring system. Apparently the VR eye wasn't integrated properly to operate independently from the radar outside," Torii said cursing to herself.

"_Torii,"_ The beautiful echoic voice of Ciel glided across every soul present in the room, _"I wont even need five minutes to do this. Proceed."_

Everyone's expression of awe focused on Ciel quickly turned into excitement seeing as he was ready for action. Smiles were in abundance as Torii began the security launch.

"Okay Ciel, I'm sending you to Community block four, section four, address 7889 Wicker Street. From there its up to you to do the probe by yourself. When I give you the signal to go I'll begin the recording process," Torii instructed.

Typing ever faster with the clacking sound of the plastic keys against her fingertips she enabled the remote surveillance VR eye to launch from the Plants inner walls. The VR eye's purpose was to record and monitor the civilian population. In the event of an emergency the VR eye would be ejected out into the public and guided remotely towards the problem and bare witness. The device was no bigger than a nickel and could go nearly everywhere. The problem with the system was the controversial questions that came along with it. Who would be using it? What could and could not be recorded? Can the system be used for malicious purposes? For the most part Ciel and the others planned on using the system before its initial termination by government authority. If anyone would misuse it, the right person to misuse it would be Torii and no one trickier.

The VR eye landed and hovered silently over the sidewalk looking over a small mansion that housed the group's enemy. Torii and Ciel were set to go.

"Begin recording! Go Ciel!" Torii commanded. Ciel's reply rippled across existence into their minds _"Let's do this thing."_

"Dude, Dodger is going to get the surprise of his life!" Rock laughed as silent as he could. Naomi shushed him out of fear that any loud noise or abrupt action would cause Ciel to lose focus. It wouldn't have happened anyhow.

Through his minds eye Ciel guided the remote camera to the front door and then shot the probe straight upward to the window nearest to the door. Using the machine as a sort of proto-projection body he sensed that the house was three stories: ground level, upstairs, and a basement. Staring straight down now he noticed that the basement gutters had been removed for repairs.

"_Perfect,"_ Ciel's inner voice sadistically informed. The others watched in wonder as Ciel continued passage into the house.

From there a small window was partially open to let some air into the houses lower levels. It was summer and the heat gave everyone a reason to open his or her windows. The VR eye entered without notice into the basement. To everyone's surprise they found that they were in the right location that they had hoped for. The largest section of the basement was cordoned off as Dodgers bedroom.

"_How convenient,"_ This led Naomi to leave her post to witness the journey deep into the bowls of the enemy's territory. Everyone's legs shuttled in anticipation. They made sure that Dodger would be home and not at work or somewhere else troublesome.

The story behind Dodger was a long one and a story that no one much liked to hear unless it was about his faults. Since the first day at the academy he was the groups unholy terror that embodied the very stereotype that everyone wished to become. Head of his class, on the sports teams, got every girl in sight with a swish of his hips. The sickening image of popularity had proved to be one of their more antagonizing foes. Once Torii reached the top of the class of 107' that pushed Dodger down to, not second place, but third place in the student body. So naturally he extracted his revenge by pumping Torii's locker full of fake blood which when opened, drained, and revealed a terrible death threat reading "Die you coordinator bitch." Naturally she was mortified. Naomi harked at every girlfriend that hung around Dodger while Rock attempted to go toe to toe with him on more than one occasion. Ciel was always strict with his moral code and refrained from "psychic spying" but in this case he reasoned that the tables needed to be balanced. Ripping the information from Dodgers heart (which Ciel found to be heavily guarded with fear and mistrust) found an aspect that would surly turn the tide and reveal an entire side of Dodger that no one but Ciel knew.

Being opposed to Dodger only strengthened the identities within their little Scooby gang. Torii was and always had been the natural gear head. Although high in intellect she certainly dressed quite the opposite. She was a bit of a rock and roller mixed in with the whole "I'm a cute little school girl gone horribly wrong" outlook. Rock wasn't too far behind in being the grunge muscle of the group. Not many had ever seen his face cleanly shaven in what seemed like forever. Naomi was the true schoolgirl. Her uppity nature and never ending supply of energy earned her the nickname Sugar baby. Of course her jet-black hair and blood red eyes deviated that assumption on multiple occasions. Ciel was the uncategorized Goth. Aside from his black attire which reflected his artistic nature the only beauty that shown clearly were his multicolored eyes and his burnt blonde hair. All of them were individuals and all of them were different, but none of that ever stopped them from being friends. Ciel was a thoroughbred Newtype followed by a slowly developing Naomi. Rock was the Natural while Torii was born as a Coordinator on earth. All of them loved one another, and no external word or action could change their minds. Not even Dodger's acts of racism could distance them.

Ciel slowly landed the VR eye on what appeared to be a nightstand but then he thought it to be a better idea to go for a corner in the ceiling for a better view. The circular VR eye was clear colored externally to provide some stealth so it would be difficult to spot. Just as Ciel held its position in the upper most corner surveying the entire room Dodger entered wearing nothing but a towel. Naomi shrieked as Rock raised an eyebrow while whistling an ornery tune. Torii was only interested in getting the goods no matter how dirty the outcome. Ciel seemed flustered but remained impartial. Dodger being athletic in all enjoyed nothing but showing off his body at any given appropriate time – which was perfect for the revenge seekers in hot pursuit of anything incriminating.

Ciel caught feelings circulating in the air as he proto-projected his senses from the VR eye. The air was electrically charged with a longing and yearning that expressed a loneliness that Ciel could empathize with. This footage was gunpowder and this experience would be the match to set it off.

_"I think you'll be getting what you want Torii. Just make me a promise," _Ciel's message reached her with a different tone this time. It was filled with an outpour of mercy that was certainly characteristic of her friend and she took to heart what he requested. _"You may show him the footage and only him. If he insists on more conflict then you may do as you wish. Can you do that?" _

"Common I'm not that heartless Ciel. That was my initial plan anyways," Torii calmly reassured.

Ciel physically nodded as he continued his Newtype work elsewhere. By the time he returned his thoughts to the eye things had already escalated tremendously. By now Dodger had put a disk into his entertainment system while he turned his television on. Ciel knew where this was going. Naomi composed herself the best she could as she faced the computer with eyes dripping with tears of laughter. Torii smiled and raised her eyebrows as she continued to witness to Dodgers apparent weaknesses.

Dodger laid on his bed facing the television in a provocative position that demanded immediate "physical" gratification…everyone save Ciel died laughing. Then Torii managed to control her sides to point out an important aspect of the picture.

"Holy shit! What the hell is he watching?!" Torii exclaimed in an appalled fashion. On cue Ciel zoomed in on the T.V, which proved to be a traumatizing revelation. All jaws dropped as they accounted for the site they saw. Before anything got hot and heavy Ciel commanded that the VR eye hover just above Dodger. Suddenly the visual screens indicated that Ciel moved the electronic device right up in the boys face getting a perfect profile view. Through words unseen Ciel sealed the prank.

_"Hey sexy! So this is what Naturals do when they aren't playing "Neo LOGOS!" How does it feel to be on candid camera sweetheart?" _With a single thought Ciel sent the sound of his puckered kiss through the teenage boys brain and shot the VR eye out the window.

With a press of the enter button the VR eye returned to its place amongst the systems outlining the Plant wall. The psychic transmission ended. Round after round of contagious laughter incapacitated everyone either sprawled out on the floor or where they sat. The footage was saved to a disk and put in Torii's disk pack for safekeeping. Once their sides started to ache they bolted for the door and exited the lab.

The metal doors activated leaving a small vacuum of air to push the teenagers along the windowed corridor to the industrial elevators. The prank was finished and the fun was only just starting. The ecstatic nature of the act thrilled them to the core as they pushed their way along towards the elevator door.

"'Kay, like I said, Chinese is totally on me," Rock said rubbing his temples in mid flight.

"Ugh! Don't tell me you're giving into Ciel's demands. Do you know what deep fried food does to you?" Torii's aloof monotone was beginning to show again now that the fun was over.

"It'll kill my diet but heck; I'll just work out later tonight. Coming Ciel?" Naomi said still wiping away her tears of mirth. The mention of Ciel caught itself in the air as everyone turned to see their friend pressed up as close to the glass as he could go without actually being outside. An intense grimace was painted on his face like he had just witnessed a horrible injustice.

"Ciel?" Rock's naive concern gathered his feelings into the pit of his stomach.

Ciel felt the chill of a coming winter massage his shoulders while the death it brought veined its way towards them. Unlike the feeling of autumn, the feeling of imminent change, this sensation surpassed the meaning. It was an omen of untold proportion. Something was coming for them and the tears they would shed would act as payment. As Ciel's eyes burned with hues of colors his unconscious tears turned to dancing prominences. He felt that he had lost something immensely precious but couldn't quite figure out what he had lost or would soon lose. His vision sharpened as Rock and the others shuffled towards him.

"Ciel? What's wrong? What do you see?" Naomi said straining her eyes as she focused with all of her primitive Newtype might.

Despite her intentions she could only see the sun and the stars blanketing the backdrop of space. For Ciel the sight was different for him.

"Something is on its way to the PLANT. I can't tell what it is exactly! My heart's beating so hard I can't concentrate all the way." Ciel gritted his teeth as the celestial light in his eyes intensified. "Souls, lots of them – too many to pick out individually, hundred strong possibly."

When numbers made no sense to Ciel the most obvious solution was to look at intent. He felt a shroud of deceit wash over him. It was like a terrible joke that history had played out once before. Finally he smelt blood as an invading luminosity consumed him, burned him in his vision while the premonition played out full circle. Before action could be connected to desire the entire glass hallway lit up with a green glow that came to them from outside the PLANT. No one had time to scream or know for that matter what had happened. The children should have died instantly and without wavering consequence; but even still they continued to breathe. Desire flooded Ciel's heart, and that rush pressed itself out of him the determination to act. The intensely heated light reflected in multiple directions like the sparks from a fourth of July firework while the fragments of green melted into the icy cold vacuum of nothingness.

"Ciel what happened?!" Naomi screeched.

"Calm down, Ciel just saved us I think." Torii said shaking.

"That was some kind of laser fire!" Rock reinforced as he rushed to Ciel's side as he jolted from the railing. "Ciel! How did you-"

Ciel turned with eyes aflame and spoke using the voice within as well as the one to clarify.

"We MUST leave!" Ciel roared with the thunder of God as he grabbed Rock in mid-flight and rocketed him towards the exit. Without a conscious thought the door opened earlier than expected. The girls felt a push on their shoulders and knew it was Ciel guiding them with his unstable telekinetic power. The group, whether carried or throttled through, made it past the door.

---

An eerie calm haunted all of the open communication lines on the battleship Victory 9. All mobile suits held their positions in and around the defense line around the Earth alliance ship as the captain's face melted into a distraught confusion. The unit that took the shot stood completely still as it held its high power beam cannon at standby. The silence broke once captain Nim connected lines from the bridge to the Arcaneus Gundam.

"Lieutenant Sol, report!" Captain Nim bellowed. His old age had not softened his voice through the years and its volume never dimmed. He removed his cap and combed back his hair in a single swipe and placed the hat back on before anyone had noticed.

Within the Arcaneus its pilot looked outward towards its target in bewilderment. Through the strands of moonlit blue hair he had clearly taken a shot with 100 accuracy. The radio control tower should have been obliterated leaving the colony absolutely mute. A pair of violet eyes quivered as the zoomed in image came to full view on his screen a few seconds later. With expression unmoving he spoke with a gentle, uncannily serene voice that only complimented the silence as his crimson Gundam shimmered brilliantly in the sun.

"Target unharmed. No damage was sustained. Some other ulterior force must protect the Leigas PLANT; otherwise the structure should have gone silent."

"We have little choice but to go ahead despite the protection. Our objective is to recover or erase the Bequest and its cargo," Captain Nim reinforced their orders.

Just off the bow of the ship another Mobile Suit hovered just in front of the command bridge over the deck. It adjusted slightly as indicated by the small vernier bursts it gave off at its sides and back. It was barely visible even in the light of the sun as it remained suspended for most of the bridge to behold. Its color scheme was completely black with no reflective surfaces to return mirror sheen to impress its onlookers; had its orange demonic eyes not been glowing the captain would not have known of its presence altogether. Its very shape was slender having no right angles to define it whatsoever – perfect for stealth.

"Lieutenant J.G Thanatos, infiltrate Leigas with the Lilith Gundam and disable communications. We need the world to be blind, deaf, and numb to the existence of that PLANT. From there we will order out units Duality and Buster Unlimited to assist." Captain Nim ordered casually.

Silence at first, but then a voice fit with the sound of cleaving knives came onto the speakers with chilling confirmation.

"The pleasure is mine, Captain," Thanatos slithered with professional gratitude as his unit used the deck as a spring point to launch into the dark of night. The suits outline faded against the backdrop of the Leigas PLANT, as the Mirage Colloid activated leaving no trace of its existence.

Sol's scarlet colored Arcaneus unit maneuvered itself onto the launch bed of the Victory 9 and stood at attention in the direction of the PLANT. Majestic and beautiful the Arcaneus was designed to be the leader of the four new Gundam's, developed by the Earth Alliances GE Project. Although the highlight of the Arcaneus was its Lancet VSBR launcher, its dragon mobile armor form was a force to behold altogether; however within the majestic shell its pilot sat in perplexity with only his frantic deep breathing to console him.

The communications tower was within a 100 accuracy shot with his weapon set to high penetration mode. The fact that he was capable didn't bother him. On the other hand the images of a boy with fiery liveliness in his eyes haunted him after he took the shot. He watched in an instant as the light was held for but a moment in time and then dispersed without the aid of a beam shield let alone any machinery involved. Conflicting thoughts played a deadly game of risk in the back of his brain while sweat began to form on his brow. It was then that he understood why neo LOGOS feared the Coordinators and the Newtypes. The clash inside of him was not focused on the target rather it was his superior, the captain. Such thoughts to him were damnable.

The Arcaneus returned to the mobile suit hangar while the starboard side, launch deck opened.

"Blue squadron one, prepare to launch immediately," Captain Nim ordered.

In five-second intervals Dagger Spawn mobile suits would erupt from the catapult and head for the PLANT without deviance. There was no turning back.

---

"What do you think it was? Maybe a battleship?" Rock chattered mostly to himself.

"You think we're at war or something? I know we were having armament build up problems but that's natural for peace times; almost nobody listens to those dumb treaties!" Naomi attempted to explain while pacing back and forth on the monorail car. Had she been walking any faster the others thought for sure that she'd wear a hole in the bottom of the shuttle car.

Torii had little concern for the politics and focused entirely on Ciel who had collapsed on the monorail seat in distress. No one could comprehend or help out Ciel in his current state. The torrent of power that had been utilized by Ciel set in motion the continuous growth of his abilities. His sensitivity and empathy had catalyzed the Newtype abilities within which in turn only reared the harvest buried in his soul.

"Ciel, you did such an amazing job! You can relax now," Torii tried to quell Ciel in his distress. Ciel's arm covered his eyes as his breathing was labored which only panicked Torii further. Ciel was both proud and fearful of what he had done. His premonition and the use of his telekinesis seemed to awaken a certain realization within him that he could not deny. He experienced life on the edge of a razor blade where only the slightest shift would tip the scale. It felt as if someone had opened a window in his minds eye while a violent whirlwind continued to enter unending and without mercy. The more he tried to suppress his powers, to set them aside, the more there was to consume – craving freedom. The seed had begun to sprout.

"Rock! Stop being an insensitive fuck and get your ass over here! Ciel's not feeling well at all," Torii roared at him to snap out of his self induced hyperventilation and to think about his friend who had done more for them than they could ever imagine. Rock slumped off his seat and crawled on all fours to Ciel's side just across from his spot. Naomi who was caught up in a panic attack had finally seated herself beside Ciel's head.

"Ciel, what are you feeling? Are you going to be okay? Please answer me!" Rock said more frantically than necessary. Torii was beginning to think that she had no soul compared to her other friends. If she had been more like them she thought, _"Would I be reacting this way?" _

It was a question that was impossible for Ciel to answer in his current state. He felt his essence stretch to every part of the PLANT to the point of tearing. Before he felt the tearing sensation within he found himself more and more flexible and spatially aware. Even then with some resemblance of comfort Ciel found that it didn't last long. He began to feel various feelings that mirrored his own but weren't his to experience. Little by little he began to recognize the fact that he was "tuned in" to the entire population of the colony. The voices were staggering almost paralyzing. There was an abundance of trepidation and disorder, which cascaded over every aspect of his heart. News broadcasts had been cut off and the communications had been brought down. Two million people would have no warning on this day. The very atrocious sensation of knowing that mass mourning loomed just beyond those moments forced Ciel to weep.

"Ciel its okay, it's going to be okay, please calm down!" Rock said holding Ciel's shoulders as comfortably as possible. The physical contact was a bit of a shock to Ciel as he felt the terror of his best friend infect himself in the form of a psychic contraction. Like labor pains the transfer of emotion to the Newtype boy was more than he could bear.

A small expulsion of force pushed everyone aside and cracked every window in the shuttle car. Thankfully none of them shattered due to the extreme externalization of Ciel's power. Rock and Naomi frantically shot back up to their feet to aid Ciel but Torii stopped them.

"Hold up, I think that's Ciel's way of saying, "I need some space"," Torii insisted. "We need to get him to a Newtype specialist ASAP,"

"No time," Ciel said sitting up now. The sound of his voice was dampened with exhaustion and pain. The storm in his mind let up slightly – just enough for him to function.

"You're okay? What was happening to you just then?" Torii exclaimed.

"I'm not sure myself Torii. It could be that I may have used too much power or that my powers must be growing," Ciel questioned.

"Do you remember how you saved us? You deflected and entire laser blast and saved the communications station!" Rock cheered despite the dire circumstances.

Ciel pushed his awareness despite his most recent power spurt and sensed with dread an awful truth.

"It's gone. The communications station is gone now," Ciel perceived.

Naomi turned and knelt on the seat next to Ciel as if praying to a holy oracle that had predicted the future.

"You mean…" Naomi paused as she began to get a taste as her own senses emerged.

"We need to get to our evacuation shelters now," Ciel finished for Naomi.

---

The shelter stations bustled with rushing individuals seeking to get their families to the escape vessels. More than a hundred stations had undergone a complete burst rate, which jumbled up the organization between assigned shelters. Utter chaos ensued. Multiple families had been separated between vehicles and taken to an alternate location. Others had been bumped from their original transportation only to find they had nowhere else to go once the terminals were closed down. People were screaming no matter which way the group turned. Luckily Naomi formed a human link in the group and held them together hand in hand through the angry crowds. The two boys and two girls lived in the same city sector and all shared the same escape vehicle along with forty other individuals; some of which were to be their families.

"People are saying that the PLANT is being attacked by the Earth Alliance because Leigas is being accused of harboring terrorists," Naomi shrieked in fear. She had never experienced something like this before and it was no small wonder that she was scared to death.

"Yeah well, the EA says a lot of things but I can hardly imagine why they'd come here. Hell, we all should have known that this would have happened sooner or later!" Torii thundered her opinions on the Earth's government. She had been passionate about the peace treaty between ZAFT and the EA and it gave her a small portrait of what it would look like to live in a world united. Once again, humanity was beginning to see the progression into another dark phase. This change was going to bring about a painful past that no one thought daring enough to dig it up again once more.

"I thought that Leigas was under special protection from the high council? Isn't there some insurgence here in the colony? I mean we aren't exactly defenseless are we?" Rock questioned, almost intrigued by the thought of partaking in a fight. He and Ciel were mecha junkies and had always enjoyed mobile suits from a safe stand point. Although the situation was apparently much more pressing he couldn't help but daydream as he squeezed his way through the crowds.

Ciel had been awkwardly quiet since they left the monorail and continued to the emergency service areas. Even though his physical pain had diminished, the inner storm continued to rage within him, attempting to tear him apart at the seams. Ciel could hardly believe himself as he scanned the residual essence that remained aloft in the area. Voices equal in panic and anger surged through everyone like an infectious illness. People began to weep while others downright bawled at the very occurrence of the national crisis. It was however the children that got to him the most. Their innocence slipped away from them layer by layer. To a degree it was like witnessing an angel rip out its feathers one by one until they were stripped bear. He could start to feel his being burn from within and slowly make its way out externally. Every attempt to suppress the feeling was almost useless and in some ways fleeting. The emotion came as a steady wave and washed over his thoughts until he drowned in their meaning. Once the pulse of emotion had consumed him he felt it happen again and again on multiple levels of understanding that he thought to have never existed. Reality interrupted his philosophical self-diagnostic as he came to the appropriate gate terminal.

Not many people had been waiting at the terminal seeing as they were already crowding the escape shuttles. Everyone from the little Scooby gang had a jump-start of horror that resonated the same response. Would they all be able to make it aboard and were their families already to safety? Naomi looked ready to wet herself while her red eyes began to well up with tears. Torii shifted her to the front of the line with her taking second place. The simple act put Naomi at ease slightly and made her feel safer knowing that her friends were there for her. Rock observed Torii with a fascination that struck him head on with the same compulsion to do the same. Time had drawn out the life that he had together with Ciel and the very thought of losing that aspect suddenly scared him. This was a disaster, yes, but the realization was the real focus.

Rock had never really valued much in his life until he met Ciel. They were very different back then, but to recollect, they had always remained the same to one another. Rock was indeed being brought down by gravity while Ciel was the embodiment of what it really meant to fly. The journey was long but moment for moment everything that Rock felt in that instant was precious. Undeniably the very glue that held his courage together was this other boy – both a mystery, and an open heart. In the deepest, more repressed part of his heart he vowed to himself to never see this boy suffer again. Without conscious thought he whipped around, grabbed Ciel by the shoulders and forced him in front. The two girls had made it safely past and the security guards were ready to take Ciel's ID for confirmation.

"Your ID card please! Hurry!" The sternness of the guard only flustered Ciel more. Between trying to process both the act and the request that happened nearly simultaneously he found himself fighting to do both to respond and to deny.

"Rock!" A female voice had called out from beyond the shuttle gate. Without a moment to process the two boys understood that it was Rock's mother. Her brown shoulder length hair and hazel eyes mirrored the very image of Rock if ever compared. There was an explosion of excitement and desperation within both boys. Although Ciel had no parents and lived out of an orphan center, the very presence of a familiar face to both children made their hearts leap for comfort.

Ciel's ID swiped and was passed….

…. Rock was forced back.

"I'm sorry, the shuttle capacity limit has been reached. Please proceed to Terminal 901," The officer barely had time to finish before Ciel whipped around like a fearsome vortex to tackle his way through to Rock. The trepidation in Ciel's heart in leaving his friend behind was unbearable to think of. Amidst the tussle between the two guards Ciel's berserker rage would not be denied, and he would prove this through an act of unprecedented compassion.

"Rock!" Ciel's voice was frantic and hoarse like that of a lions roar. He meant every part of the name and defined it through a series of telepathic waves, which surged through everyone in the terminal sector. The magnificence of the breakdown was both dramatic and tear jerking. Perhaps Ciel had caught wind of the unrecognized feelings within Rock, which gave him his strength, or it could have been Rock's mother who may have unintentionally channeled her feelings for her son. Neither boy could say it, or would say it, but they both acknowledged each other's importance out of truth. Rock was content; Ciel however would have it his way.

Like flexing a muscle, Ciel compressed the air around him and then relaxed, which in turn sent the two guards on either side of him flying in their respective directions. The electronic ID station flickered suddenly as it showed a complete listing of personnel on the flight. With the wincing of an eye Ciel's picture and data erased, while Rock's wallet materialized in the Newtype boys hand. Rock blinked disbelieving and felt his pant pocket become empty – his expression widened as Ciel swiped his ID through the terminal.

"…Wait – NO!" Rock screamed as he tried to reclaim his wallet from Ciel, but it turned out that this only played in his friends favor. Ceil gently, but briskly grasped Rocks hand and shoulder and threw him into the shuttle with the aid of his telekinesis. Naomi and Torii caught him while Rock's mother came to capture her reckless son in her arms. Ciel's eyes drifted to the ID station and without hesitation the doors to the terminal closed and locked.

Ciel took a breath and let it go. He made the choice just as willing as Rock had made his. The shuttle was full and ready for take off carrying everything he held dear as its cargo. He wouldn't have felt so anxious had Rock actually taken a seat instead of shouting through an airtight door. Ciel couldn't help but laugh a little at the attempt as the glow in his eyes dimmed down once again. Imagining the very best he could, he attempted to link his mind to his friends just on the other side of the door.

He placed both hands on the cold metal reinforced door like king David placing his hands upon the Ark. His forehead touched the cold exterior and slowly he let his stance slip into a kneeling slump. Tears streamed down his face as he knelt propped against the door. He knew that the words said to him were not the words they would have liked to use. He gathered that Rock would curse himself for his choice in terms but that would no longer matter.

---

On the other side of the door all hell was breaking loose. Rock tried with all his might to open the shuttle door but to no avail. His mother and the other two girls attempted to coax him from the door but all of them were afraid of Rock's display of increasing hysteria.

"Ciel, open this door right now damn you! Open!" Rock pushed with all his might while turning the latch with all the power in his wrists. Tears blinded his view, which only aggravated him further as he rammed against the shuttle door.

"Rock, stop this! Ciel will be fine!" Mrs. Terran spoke trying to comfort her son. It was futile to even try to calm him, purely senseless. Naomi and Torii had second thoughts as they tried their hardest to peer out of the single glass window that was still in view of the terminal.

Rocks rage exploded in a single spasm that wretched his entire body upwards with the shuttle handle in his grasp. There was an audible "CRACK!" that sickened anyone close enough to hear it. Rock had successfully broken his wrist, which nearly sent his mother into a fainting spell. He refused to care, refused to acknowledge the pain within. Finally as all three of them looked, Ciel stood up to meet their gaze.

They could see the heaven in his eyes as the stars of the universe shown so clearly through his purely angelic expression. All three of the youths found themselves so lost, caught up within the sight of their friend that they soon forgot everything about the present. None of them would know it just yet, but they had seen a change within their friend so tremendous that it would surely change everything they knew. It wasn't a change in the evolution of man, no, not quite so far from the fact though. They had seen everything that a human heart could be. They waited in wonder of what departing words they would hear to help comfort their already lost souls. Unfortunately there were really no promises to say, none of which were definitive or absolute. Ciel left them with a heart for comedy.

"_You totally owe me Chinese food!" _Ciel smiled as the shuttle moved away from the terminal to prepare for launch sequence.

A total ruckus of all three of his friends erupted from behind the door. With a final wink of an eye he politely asked Mrs. Terran to watch over them. The three teenage youths wept, completely drained of their energies both emotionally and physically. Eventually the shuttle security attended to Rock who still had some fight left in him. For simple precaution he was sedated – the ceasing in swirling violent emotion was a clear sign of that. A few moments later they would descend into the docks and depart without interruption.

---

Finally, like an ice pick through the heart, the loneliness stabbed him in a harsh betrayal. He sat against the door with hands in his lap waiting for something else to happen. He had so much direction and poise just moments ago and now he felt he had nothing. He had never been one to give up or give into unsightly circumstances seeing as he had mostly been on his own for all eighteen years of his life. All he wanted to do was remember that his friends were safe and getting away from this hell and that was that. Just beyond the terminal gate on the floor were the flight goggles that Rock wore around his neck on occasion. He scrambled for them and held them tightly to his chest before putting them around his neck. He would find a way to return them to his friend.

No more than three minutes passed and there was a tremor that shook the entire terminal station. It shocked Ciel to the very pit of his stomach all the way down to his toes as the ground vibrated with repetitive violence. The boy shot to his feet instantly with satchel bag in hand. Without any warning his Newtype senses kicked in full force.

"They're here now?" He gasped just as an explosion outside rocked the complex sending him to his hands and feet. Such an unfamiliar sound made his heart pound harder and harder.

"If they got here this fast then they might go after the civilian shuttles! Maybe that's why they were aiming for the communications tower?" Ciel reasoned.  
"All civilians please leave block A and proceed to area 901. All terminals are full. Proceed calmly to your secondary emergency outlets immediately," A voice mimicking Marlin Brando informed through the centers intercom.

The boy figured that somehow he could escape from the PLANT and make it to safety if he could get to the separate shelters. It was very unlikely however that he would make it all the way across the colony and make it in time. The influx of people running to the most convenient shelter had caused an overflow. Someone originally assigned to that shelter was bumped only to find that his or her secondary shelter was gone too. The odds were not looking good in the long run.

The guards that Ciel had sent flying began to awaken from their unconsciousness. This was the opportune time to leave unless he wanted to get caught and be punished. As he ran he logically surmised that they wouldn't have the time to punish let alone pursue him. Then again he was tempted to go back and ask them for assistance as to which route he could take to get to block 901.

He turned a sharp corner and confronted a doorway leading to another monorail that would lead him to the other end of the residential block. The words "pass code entry please" blinked over and over again on the small protruding entry log to the side of the door.

"Shit! You're kidding me? How am I supposed to get out of here?" Ciel cursed as he tapped the number pads endlessly. Usually in case of emergency the code to most of the doors changed to the three-sector number you were currently in, or to the last four numbers in your citizen ID. Neither of the number combinations worked which only aggravated him. A brisk kick to the door only managed to bruise the boy's big toe and send him into a tussled frenzy.

From his minds eye Ciel sensed that there was another person other than himself in the hallway. He turned slowly to see someone sitting against the wall next to the next corresponding door to another monorail. The person was covered in a sort of gown with a hood that was a bright goldenrod color. The shape of the figure suggested that it was indeed a woman, probably in her early thirties. Darker skinned – she was most likely of Eurasian decent. She held a small pocket sized book in her hands and read it in silence while a single kaki bag lay at her side. Ciel acted without considering politeness. The fact of the matter was they were at war and possibly about to die.

"Hey lady, we got to get out of here, the Earth Alliance is attacking!" Ciel thundered in her general direction. He jogged over to her and knelt beside her out of instant guilt for his brashness.

"Ma'am, we have to go now! You'll die if you wait for the terminals to be functioning again! We have to go to area block 901 and hop on a shuttle over there!" Ciel pressured the woman. Locks of pure black hair dripped from under the sunlit colored hood she wore while she saved her place in her book. Her eyes were an extremely dark hazel color, almost black by nature; hers were deep and never ending like his, as dark as onyx or sackcloth as opposed to his opalescent eyes.

"Its okay, I'm waiting for someone," She spoke with gentle words that reminded of him of a song he had heard as a child. He couldn't put his finger on the name or title of the harmony but he ignored it in light of the situation.

"Miss, if we don't leave now we'll be dead. Whom were you waiting for?" Ciel interrupted himself.

"I was waiting for a friend actually, he should have been here by now," She spoke again with utter cheerfulness. Despite the growing danger this woman didn't seem afraid at all. Ciel shook it off and stood up and attended to the door the woman sat next too.

"My name is Ciel Godsend," Ciel informally introduced himself as he typed furiously at the console. The woman stood with her kaki bag around her shoulder and appeared to be around five foot eight. Her hood had fallen off and revealed her hair to be waist length. Ciel felt a little more intimidated as she stood now. He delved a little deeper trying unconsciously to know this woman's identity all the while paying attention to the control panel.

"You're quick to the punch my friend. There's no need to push for information young man," The woman said hinting at the boy's use of his telepathy, "My name is Melody Swanson,"

Ciel turned and paid full attention to the woman as she approached. He was a little embarrassed at his misuse of his abilities but that wasn't hanging heavily on his shoulders at the moment.

"You're a Newtype like me," Ciel stated as he attempted to breach the console with his telekinesis.

"Yes indeed. I am a counsel member from the Newtype Bureau of Rights and Research," Melody hummed gently as Ciel worked overtime to try and break the lock on the door. Ciel stopped a moment and looked the gorgeous woman straight in the face. He had always wanted to go to the Bureau but never had the schedule to do so.

"Can you help me miss? I'm trying to break the auto lock for this door so I can get on the monorail," Ciel said turning to the door. "I cant seem too do what I just did maybe a few minutes ago,"

"Do what?" Melody smiled.

Ciel stopped to take a small break to explain.

"I don't know exactly. There have been weird things happening to me all day long,"

"Maybe I can help?" Melody said placing her bag on the floor next to the door.

"How can you do that?"

"I actually rate and monitor Newtypes for potential in my department of work. You've heard of the NT system haven't you?" Melody smiled again.

"Actually I have but I've been unable to go get evaluated,"

"Close your eyes for a moment and take a deep breath," Melody insisted as she placed both of her hands at both sides of Ciel's head. Ciel had little or no reason to fear this woman. She might have been more experienced but Ciel was confident enough that he could boot her out if needed. By the time the breath was over he had opened his eyes a second later just as Melody removed her hands. Her eyes were wide with marvel and amazement.

"Well, that's it? That's all you had to do?" Ciel said skeptically.

Before there was a response another tremor far greater than the last few sent Ciel to the floor while Melody plunged against the wall. Neither were hurt but both were shaken up considerably as they heard the action outside grow in intensity.

"You were saying?" Ciel said sighing while rising to his feet.

Melody bent down and shuffled through her bag of things. She ripped out an identical royal blue pocket book like the one she had been reading. She took Ciel's hand and deposited it without acceptance or refusal. Melody then stretched out her hand towards the door and it opened with the swish of the air lock. Before stepping through the door Melody met Ciel with a look of determination and resolve.

"I wish I would have found you sooner my friend. You're quite special indeed!" Melody shrieked with rapture.

"I'm not understanding. What NT level does that make me? A four, or possibly a five maybe?" Ciel said nearly smiling.

"Listen, this book will help you. Use it and it will serve you well! You may be able to step up and help this colony!" Melody mused to herself.

"Help the PLANT? How do I do that?" Ciel said getting worked up over the woman's reaction.

"The only way to do that is to be guided by the voice inside you. That is all I can say," Melody said leading Ciel through the door.

"I'm guessing this will help?!" Ciel said dumbfounded as he held up the soft cover book in his hands. In the meantime he placed it in his satchel bag for safekeeping. "And wait a second! What about your friend? The friend you were waiting for is bound to come by isn't he?"

"It's more important that I go where I'm needed to be. I will contact him and he shall be safe," Melody said stepping onto the balcony of the monorail cars. There had been two cars. The opposite railcar led to the industrial sector while the other led to block sectors 703 to 1101 where the two could make an escape. Before Ciel joined Melody in her rail car headed for the sectors the loudspeakers came on once again.

"All harbor mobile suits scramble! I repeat scramble! Enemy battleship moving to intercept rescue squads! All pilots scramble!"

A fuse had ignited somewhere in the teenage boys heart as he stopped to contemplate the message he had just heard. He paused and let the wave take hold of him as he listened with memories unbound. His eyes went ablaze with a greater brilliance than he had never given off once before. The immense amount of power summoned by the boy cracked the ground and affected the electronic fields surround him. Suddenly the images of his friends disappearing in a ball of cruel fire overcame him and set him in motion.

"NO!!!" He denied with the thunder of a thousand winds. Before Melody could act Ciel had moved at an undetectable speed into the monorail headed for the industrials sector. Before she had time to yell out anything the monorail shot off and out towards the battle.

"Ciel! Wait! You must come this way to escape!" Melody cried while trying to use her telepathy to reach him. Her calm voice was overpowered by the continual reply that only made her wonder what would truly happen next.

"_I will save them, I will save them, I will…"_

_---_

His thoughts raced as bullets shot past the shuttle car and through the air. Every beam that cut the air with super intense heat only made his blood boil further. There were explosions by the dozen occurring everywhere in the artificial atmosphere, adding luminescence to the scenery of a world gone to hell. Ciel could hardly control the reaction inside of him and had long abandoned all hope of quelling such an irreversible expulsion of power. He let loose whenever he could. Every so often the monorail would shoot forward, almost super charged by an infinite power source. The glass in the passenger car bent perfectly without breaking and landed on the seats or floor. It was the area he occupied that was most affected by his rush of emotion. His body flickered with a strange sensation that came and went invisibly with only the slightest hint of its existence. Ciel had to focus on the feeling of the moment. The strange feeling of touching the lips of death had fueled his Newtype potential, but the euphoria of the memory had become stale. The threat of loss was still very real to Ciel but the excess amount of raw energy was beginning to wane as he traveled to the industrial sector.

_"I hope that Miss Swanson is okay. She seemed nice but she came of as a little mysterious to me,"_ Ciel wondered. _"Follow the voice inside? Sounds to me like a deep request coming from an individual who knows the meaning of depth."_

"Thanatos, on your six!" A female voice bellowed from within the Buster Unlimited. It had placed itself quite a distance away in a residential block and observed most of the battle through a sniper scope zoomed in on the enemy.

The Lilith Gundam spun head over heels and extended its left hand, which splashed an oncoming Zaku III with pin missiles. Long sharp pillars capable of penetrating a mobile suits armor stuck out of the Zaku like a voodoo doll discarded in a garbage can. Not only had the pilot been impaled multiple times but also the actual suit itself was completely incapable of activation. The pin missiles emitted a small electronic charge that incapacitated a suits power system completely. The Lilith adjusted to be right side up and hovered while taking mercy shots at local hangars filled will military personnel and vital equipment essential for battle.

"Why thank you dearest Emma, if it weren't for you I would have been toasted now wouldn't I?" Thanatos cynically replied.

A Ginn two made a round about flight loop towards the Lilith and was ready to take another shot. Only a few more adjustments and the Lilith would have been critically damaged or destroyed. Sadly the Busters rail gunfire got to it first sending it careening to the ground. The attack ended in a fireball that carried with it the damned soul of its pilot.

"You're welcome asshole," Emma said with finesse as she reloaded to continue her barrage on nearby reinforcements headed their way. Their fun was interrupted by an incoming signal from the Duality who had made the most progress in sneaking up on the Bequest and her crew.

"I'm a minute from the actual hangar. I've customized the double shroud with extra ammo so if I come across trouble I'll be okay. Any sign of the two prototypes yet?" A younger male voice informed diligently. Although he had been trained thoroughly his voice carried a hint of worry and an impression that would leave any veteran doubting.

"Delay your actions by 30 seconds Kurt. I'll have passed through the phase two line by then. From there I'll be able to join you. Just hold off so I can have a little fun!" Thanatos requested.

"No Kurt, not sign of the prototypes yet. We haven't heard anything from Sol yet so expect that he's 1) already taken care of them or 2) they're clueless and ready to self-destruct them anyways. We shouldn't rely on those assumptions too strongly seeing as he's only performing diversionary tactics." Emma said as she clipped a Zaku two unit sending it crashing into an approaching Zaku three. "Two birds with one stone, very nice,"

---

Ciel had no time to act as he saw the two plummeting Zaku's tumbling towards the monorail tracks. All he could do was latch onto a nearby railing and cling to it hoping that his sweaty palms wouldn't let go. He closed his eyes – which was both a good thing and a bad thing. The bad was that he would be a little discombobulated when he opened them again; the good, was that when he had the instinct he unintentionally formed a small barrier around himself to protect his body.

There was a loud cracking sound as metal twisted and wires buckled under a titanic weight. Tumbling and tossing out of control in all directions it was impossible to tell what was up and what was down. His grip had slipped and he became a small plastic ball like the ones inside of toddler toys. Crunching earth and gravel hitting the sides of the monorail car sounded like hail stones striking a chalkboard at super sonic speeds. The intense high-pitched squeal of the grinding parts only helped to weaken the novice attempt at a protective barrier.

Then there was nothing but complete silence to surround him with. He felt liquid dripping from his forehead and his back and shoulders. His thighs and knee's screamed out in agony as he gasped for air removing a seat cushion from his body. At first Ciel couldn't tell if he was dieing or not and being unable to determine this only frightened him more. Completely unintentionally his outstretched arm expelled an invisible motion that tore apart the weakened mainframe of the once recognizable shuttle car. The only recognizable action to take was to go towards it and hope that it wasn't the light of heaven as you emerged. Ciel took back that comment to himself as he adjusted his satchel bag that had wrapped itself around his neck while exiting the ruined transport.

The railings had come down from their pillar points and smashed into the ground along with the rail car. A large trench divided the stable parts of the railing from the destroyed section. The long engraving in the ground trailed off an incline just to the west of the tracks but stopped just short of a small patch of trees. The forested area on both sides of the tracks helped give Ciel a camouflaged edge as he ventured out to investigate the crash.

The shuttle car landed about a yard away from the initial railings that had been brought down from the impact. The two Zaku's had cut off the line and separated the tracks as they fell farther down below. He hoped for the life of him that the pilots had been unharmed. He knew as he began to jog (although feeling the effects of the crash in his legs) he felt an inward pain that suggested that a casualty had been made. It felt as if someone began holding him underwater, suffocating him, as he began to hear the screams of at least one soldier down by the crash. Then there was only sobbing. Ciel's heart dropped down into the pits of hell as he heard the gasping and wailing of a man just beyond the incline.

Like stepping out on the edge of plank over a hostile ocean he watched as the pilot of the Zaku III remove a fellow comrade from the fallen unit. A mangled body suggested that the shot traveled through the cockpit without damaging any internal mechanisms. The remaining pilot was tall and lanky, short brown hair with hazel eyes. Ciel did not know this man but he somehow instinctively connected to his heart as he beheld them sitting outside their suits. It took a moment to realize that he had already made it down halfway while screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Are you okay? I'm here to help you!"

He knew his words were futile and no amount of comfort would help. The only worry that continually showed itself was could he handle the sight of another human being…dead. The pilot of the Zaku III lifted his head from the chest of his fallen friend and noticed Ciel all the while sobbing uncontrollably. Ciel hopped from body part to body part to reach the second Zaku covering the one on the bottom. He had a little trouble trying to get a good grasp on the hand digits and eventually he made it with a good sweat. The chest of the Zaku II was flatter than the advanced unit beneath, so it allowed a plateau like feeling as the teenage boy surveyed the outlying surroundings. Nothing could ever prep Ciel for the sight of war in its fullest.

The defeated soldier held his teammate covered in his blood as he wept a silent plea. The two of them knew one another. The onlooker could only assume how deep the connection was as he witnessed the tragedy. Ciel felt, without a shadow of a doubt, that such a loss would never mend with time. The yearnings of the heart were too great to fulfill: like trying to drain the ocean into a bottomless pit. In that second, that very moment where everything changed, a boy stood stoic despite losing the world he clung to – only to realize a bigger, greater _All _was waiting for him. Death is a beginning, but love is forever.

Somewhere on the way between conscious action and thought he remained still as the world as it seemed turned. Without accessing the memory Ciel began to sing a hushed prayer. The song was ageless, beyond expression, and understanding. It echoed through the trees nearby as a small breeze began to lift from the ground up.

"…_And as the wind comes crashing down, upon this barren landscape, I'll hold you near – so close to me, my dearest…"_ The pilot felt the words and comprehended them in multiple dimensions. Suddenly the sadness slipped away while the tenderness of a promise more ancient than love itself began to cultivate in the soldier's heart. He would still mourn the loss, but the heart that understood was so much greater.

The song was interrupted by the mechanical adjusting of metal joints in a mobile suit nearby. Before the birds of the forest could take flight the solider cried out at Ciel and dove for him. There was a thunderous repetition of fire that sprung out from within the dark underbrush of the trees and skid across the armor of the Zaku II. Before he recognized what was happening he was already in mid flight with the solider until they landed on the Zaku III just below. The claps of gunfire stopped and proceeded elsewhere as Ciel wrapped his insecure hands around the pilot's head. Ciel moaned as he felt the welt on the back of his head form slowly from impact. He was grateful for the act of protection but he seriously wished he'd stop getting the crap kicked out of him.

"Sir are you okay?" Ciel said sitting up adjusting the other man's weight over his torso. As his eyes slid across the body of the pilot the only response was silence. Ciel recognized that not all of the blood on his cloths was his and that's when it hit him. The shots shred apart the young soldier's backside revealing muscle tissue, torn ligaments, and the inner workings of his body. Ciel was saucer eyed and breathless.

He had no knowledge of this man or who he was and vise versa. They had only met a second ago and out of the blue he saved him. Without recognition or reward the soldier acted purely on an impulse of duty and honor. Then came the most unforgettable unsettling scream that no human should ever be allowed to make. Ciel felt that his mouth was open as he felt it with his fingers but he swore later he could hear no sound. The most disturbing war cry could be heard for a distance that could very well not be measured.

All at the very same time a massive change was beginning to take place within Ciel. His eyes now held within them what it meant to be broken as they glowed with a fearsome fire that mirrored what creation must have looked like when it first began. His hair dimmed and changed color altogether to become completely diamond white. The seed that Ciel possessed bore fruits ready for the harvest…and the Zaku III would be his scythe.

With no regard for politeness the body of the soldier slumped off the edge of the Zaku's body as the blood soaked Ciel walked casually to the cockpit. His sight penetrated the trees and the brush and identified the enemy with unerring accuracy. It was a royal blue mobile suit – a Gundam. They called the unit Duality. Ciel casually dropped his satchel bag through the cockpit doors and followed soon after. Angling his body into the seat he strapped himself in while putting his bag beneath the seat. The cockpit doors closed leaving the light from the monitors to guide him. All he could see was the sky above dotted with lights that appeared just as quickly as they disappeared, like fireflies in a jar.

Eerily the mobile suit resumed function without the slightest touch to a single control panel. Buttons on the side consoles descended and arose rapidly while the instruments adjusted accordingly to the pilot. It was as if the mobile suit was possessed, piloted by numerous apparitions from past battles. This of course was not the case. The telekinetic powers of the Newtype boy reached deeper and deeper into the mechanisms of the machine and controlled it. In an instant a full diagnostic of the mobile suit became raw untapped knowledge to Ciel – like a book that he had read over and over time again. It was as if the boy could pilot the suit even long before he sat in the cockpit seat. The knowledge was appreciated but even Ciel was terrified to some extent as to how he knew or why he knew. He simply understood the mobile suit.

Before acting he waited with the patience of a hunter as the blue mobile suit approached from behind. It was making its way slowly across the divide in the forest towards the industrial sector. It was funny though that the suit didn't just boost its way there. This led Ciel to suspect that it was attempting to be sneaky and attack at its flank. Ciel assumed that the Gundam's pilot thought that it had taken care of these suits and could move on undetected through this sector. _"Tough luck blue boy, you're in for a surprise!"_

The Duality rose up from the brush and started running up past the mobile suits. Ciel waited for just the right moment to act taking care to monitor the gargantuan footsteps as they drew closer. With blitzkrieg speed Ciel pushed the throttle to full igniting the booster packs on the feet. In a simple motion the Zaku made a quick sweep kick to the Duality catching it at its shins.

"Whoa! What the!?!" Kurt exclaimed as he tried to gain control. Of course Ciel couldn't count on a physical attack to slow down the Gundam seeing as the blue mobile suit regained its balance in mid air. By the time the Duality had turned around the Zaku III was already on a collision course with the Gundam using the Zaku II as a living shield. In the heat of the moment the Duality made good use of the double shroud packs on its body and pulverized the Zaku II with multi dispersal missiles. It was a ploy plain and simple. Ciel had already circled around to the backside of the suit with beam tomahawk withdrawn. The Duality and its pilot were completely oblivious to react as the Zaku rammed them from behind throwing it off balance once again. The pilot panicked. The beam tomahawk mauled and ripped through the back of the assault shroud causing a great amount of damage to the suits ability to maneuver. The total "rape" of the mobile suit was hardly over. A backhanded fist from the ZAFT mobile suit smashed into the side of the head unit causing the pilot to lose visual temporarily. The Zaku grasped the right hand of the Duality while its other hand balanced the blunt side of the beam tomahawk against the shoulder armor. Ciel ignited the boosters and shot straight up with the right knee extended. The arms pressed down simultaneously while the flying knee kick hyper extended the Duality's arm with the sound of clashing metal. This forced the Gundam's beam rifle to be dropped all the while the pilot failed to gain a heading. Tired of playing with his pray Ciel severed the Duality's right arm with the tomahawk and kicked the Duality away.

It an act of retaliation Kurt enabled the use of the nagitana beam saber and swung around while he was still in range of the Zaku. The long sword like beam merely caught the Zaku's shield and sliced it apart off the shoulders. Ciel was quick enough to sense the enemy's next move seeing as he only needed to take a single step back. The beam tomahawk flew and divided the Dualities left arm perfectly all the way past the shoulder armor. The resulting explosion almost toppled the suit completely. Ciel wasn't out of weapons just yet as it seemed. Still clutching the forearm previously severed, the Zaku threw it spear style just before the phase shift energies left the limb. The hand of the duality wedged itself through the eyes of the Gundam's faceplate causing the pilot to go temporarily blind. In a final act that would bring the battle to a close Ciel hovered above the Duality as it tilted ready to fall from impact and thrust the left leg of the Zaku downwards. The swift kick forced the hand inwards completely crushing the Gundam's head.

The Gundam ceased moving temporarily as Ciel looked over it carefully with the eyes of a hawk. Then the chest cavity opened up and a pilot with pistol in hand walked out. The boy was hardly worth a description. He was a late teen maybe, red head, freckles, and glasses. Ciel couldn't help but laugh manically over the external speakers, which activated automatically according to Ciel's will.

"You killed those who could not fight back without a second thought." Ciel's voice struck a terrible chord in the Gundam pilot's soul. He had acted out of his ruthless nature without consequence. He could be a bastard, or maybe that's just how wars went. The battle of the minds continued onward.

"What is your excuse?" Ciel interrogated.

The defeated pilot's eyes lit up with fury.

"You dirty Coordinator!"

"Correction: I am a Newtype, end correction," Ciel said allowing himself to play the smart ass.

That sent the pilot over the edge. He fired his pistol until empty and useless. If Ciel had the time he'd entertain himself by telling the man that this was his first time piloting a mobile suit. In knowing that information the Gundam pilot would have killed himself or just had a mental breakdown.

"Come down here and fight on my playing field! Man to man!" Kurt hollered.

Ciel un-strapped himself from his seat and opened the cockpit door. He emerged a terrible omen with diamond white hair dressed in trappings of black. Ciel held the top hatch and smiled a smile that invited resolution.

"If you wish to die, then I'm game,"

Kurt had second thoughts.

An agitated sense caught Ciel just in time before he would recklessly drop down to go into close quarters. There were two others, one unit was quite a distance away, and another unit not too far behind the Duality. By now the other approaching teammates noticed that the Duality had been lost on radar and were moving in to investigate. Ciel turned back into the suit and closed the door behind him.

"I'll have to take a rain check on your request," Ciel said moving the Zaku to boost up and away. Kurt stomped uncontrollably like a child in a tantrum.

Just as the Zaku took to the air a massive beam struck the ground and melted the surrounding soil into glass. The Unlimited had just barely missed its mark. Ciel maneuvered around to face the west while getting used to the hallow feeling in his stomach. The Unlimited fired a volley of shots to confuse Ciel but failed to get that reaction. The shots only nicked the outer layers of armor leaving the machine practically unharmed as it darted across the sky. Ciel retrieved the buster cannon off of the equipment hook placed on the back and aimed carefully. The scope was so limited in range that the image blurred on the screen. For a regular pilot this shot would have been impossible, for Ciel it was as clear as the truth itself.

Back in the residential areas farthest from the action the Unlimited's target lock-warning signal blared occasionally as the lock was lost and then found again.

"This little mosquito thinks it can hit me from half way across the colony!" Emma roared laughing almost uncontrollably. Her laughter ended in a green light that pierced the cockpit and cooked her from the inside out. Her molecular structure unzipped and melted into a mesh of core components that would hardly be recognized at all. In a fleeting moment of carelessness and impossibility the Unlimited exploded and took with it an entire neighborhood block as a result. The zoom on the scope reversed as the fire in Ciel's eyes continued to burn with increasing ferocity.

In a lightning swift reaction from out of the trees a hoard of projectiles shot unyielding towards the Zaku. Ciel's concentration had been on the Unlimited for too long which let his perceptions of the Lilith Gundam to go unnoticed. No way of escaping some damage. Ciel shot straight up into the air, which saved the body from being pierced by the pin missiles. The legs of the suit were not as fortunate. The internal motors exploded sending the Zaku out and away without any control over direction.

Ciel grabbed the throttle and abandoned the use of the foot pedals. At just the right moment when the Zaku's body tilted towards the southeast Ciel fired to boosters to full power and rocketed towards the industrial section. Luckily the shipyard had remained unscathed by the conflict thus far. The decent of the Zaku was severe and the crippled mobile suit had little chance of operating successfully at all. The shipyard consisted of various barracks or hangars the circled the central support column of the PLANT while the shipping decks remained closer to the factories. There was little hope for the mobile suit now that its power was practically on empty. Ciel shoved the right shoulder forward just as it slammed down on a runway leading to a collision course with a pair of hangars that appeared vacant. He could only hope that what was behind the doors of the hangar wasn't explosive. Sparks flew as the speed decreased with distance towards the metal structures just ahead. Unfortunately the fluctuation of speed made no difference to the hangar walls. The Zaku III's head was crushed on impact while the sturdy body made it clean through to hangar. All motion ceased.

Before the Zaku lost all functioning capabilities Ciel propped the suit on its left arm and opened the cockpit. Grabbing the satchel bag from under the seat he dove out of the suit unsuspecting and ran clear of the wreckage. The Zaku was officially useless and attaining it from its former pilot was pure shit out of luck. Fortunately Ciel's luck did not end at the hangar. A large cargo bed – mobile suit sized – was parked near the central area between the mobile suit cages on each side of the walls.

Running away from the crash he spied a ladder for getting up and onto the bed of the carrier. The metal was slightly warm to the touch as he climbed. He figured that it must have been the vents of the truck but he was deathly wrong. A mobile suit hand colored in a pale gray laid sprawled out to his left while the body remained unmoving. Ciel's heart leapt in a mixture of joy, horror, and awe as he ran up the side of the arm.

Before him was a mobile suit colored a gray ash. Its majesty echoed the centuries before, in the now, and what was to come in the legends that would be born. Breathtaking and stunning the suit seemed so perfect and so clean cut that it seemed almost a shame to put it through combat. Ciel refused to hesitate – his friends could be in serious danger if what he heard at the monorail station was correct. He stood upon the body's torso and lifted a small indented switch that opened up the cockpit in two equal sections. Just as before the teenage boy jumped right on in unsure of the things that were to follow.

Ciel pressed the ignition key and watched as the cockpit door closed while every screen lit up on command. Once strapped in the console booted showing the program operation system. Again, Ciel's power manipulated switches and buttons on the panels in front and beside him automatically.

ZAFT (Zodiac Alliance for Freedom Treaty) Ver. 5.556 proc-801 C.E 107

Gundam

Unit supportive

Negation

Defense

Automation

Matrix

Gundam: P.A.W.N(Personal, All-Range, Weapon, Neutralization) Strike.

As the body of the mobile suit shuffled and the metal restraints moaned, the Gundam's eyes flooded with a beryl green light…


	2. Phase Two: An Air of Loyalty

Gundam Seed Harvest 

**Chapter 1: Air of Loyalty**

_Previously_

_Cosmic Era 107 – thirty-five years after the Valentine War Era the Plants and the Atlantic Federation are moderated and kept in check by GAEAH (galactic, anti-aggression, execution, alliance, headquarters) – an earth founded organization for the universal United Nations of earth and the colonies. However, since the arrival of the Newtype in the Cosmic Era an old hatred of the past has awakened. Like a virus this enmity for both Newtypes and Coordinators has rekindled and spread its way throughout the earth sphere._

_In an act of unknown violence the unaligned space colony of Leigas was attacked savagely by the earth alliance. Their target according to intelligence was to be a new ZAFT ship, the Bequest, and two Gundam prototypes being developed there. Amidst the growing conflict within the colony, a young boy named Ciel Godsend, has been thrust into the skirmish. Unable to escape the colony with his friends the Newtype boy crossed paths with Melody Swanson, a Newtype scientist affiliated with the Newtype Bureau of Rights and Research. In a brief spiritual exchange the two became acquainted and parted their separate ways as Melody inspired Ciel to follow the voice in his heart. In a freak incident, Ciel witnessed the death of two ZAFT soldiers on the field of combat. Unable to cope with the traumatic experience the Newtype potential in Ciel awakened ferociously in response to the suffering of both ZAFT pilots. After an intense encounter with the enemies Duality, Unlimited Buster, and Lilith Gundam's, young Godsend later stumbles upon one of the ZAFT Gundam prototypes.  
_

_As the youth's power connects him to the Gundam, he sets out to travel a road of uncertainty._

_End Log_

**Intro Song: Rebirthed by Skillet**

---

The resonant humming of the activating mobile suit reflected off the walls of the hangar as the metal bindings cracked apart. The seals that were meant to restrain the Gundam were rendered useless as the legs angled upwards with arms gripping the sides of the hauler transport. The sounds of the auto balancer and the gears in the legs swished and adjusted as it began to sit upright. The internal power system fluctuated like that of a beating heart; indeed as it seemed, as the hackles rose on the back of Ciel's neck he unconsciously knew that a beast had awakened.

"Balancer systems are normal but the AMBAC (Active Mass Balance Auto Control) coordination is unfinished, and the life support remains incomplete too. Damn it! I guess this thing isn't even finished yet!" Ciel groaned as warning indicators popped up on screen.

Ciel wasn't far from the truth when he had been complaining. The PAWN Strike had indeed undergone a complete overhaul. Eighty percent of the suit had been completed. Only a little maintenance remained to put the war machine in working order. Armament was minimal but despite the current situation it would serve Ciel well. Quickly glancing at the specs of the Gundam he quickly learned what the machine was capable of accomplishing.

"The mobile suit is (_unfortunately_) without a doubt, a defensive weapon as the startup acronym indicated," Ciel stopped himself as he sensed a growing anxiety that seemed to come up at him from behind. The Lilith Gundam was at the hangars doorstep. Ciel's furiously glowing orange eyes shifted acknowledging the impending threat. With his telekinesis Ciel activated the phase shift armor. Slowly the Gundam's exterior was flooded with energy turning the lifeless gray into a simple white and black layout. The main body and torso became a sapphire blue while the cockpit hatch turned a deep red color. The crescent antenna on the mobile suits head became a brilliant gold while it back booster unit became pitch black.

Not even a moment later an intrusion of what seemed like hundreds of pin missiles pierced through the hangar walls from behind. Shrapnel flew like confetti in all directions while the upper balconies of the hangar fell down to the ground. The Strike, being in phase shift, remained unaffected by the onslaught of razor sharp weapons. Despite the fact that the Gundam was in no danger from physical attack the crashing sounds against the booster pack, arms, and legs could be heard quite clearly from inside the cockpit. The constant clutter only made Ciel's heart beat faster and faster out of fear. Had those shots been beams his adventure would have surly come to an anticlimactic end. This gave Ciel the opportunity to really dig deeper into the suits frame and contemplate its complexity.

The Zaku III, which had crash-landed through the hangar, had its fill of the pin missiles and exploded illuminating the entire hangar with orange and red flames. The metal shutter doors of the armored complex had been blown out completely, revealing Ciel and his Gundam, which stood upright amidst the flames. To the Lilith's pilot this image revealed a twinge of fear within his soul that he had not once acknowledged in his wartime career. Thanatos hated being afraid and in admitting to it, it left him open to moments of desperation he never once thought he would act upon.

"That's where you've been hiding? Looks like I found you out!" Thanatos's voice quivered. Instead of engaging head on like he had planned his black Gundam took to the sky like a jittery moth to a light bulb. Horizontal with the ground the Lilith aimed its primary beam rifle and took aim at the hangar from above.

Just before the target cursor could get a fix on the opponent through an estimated lock, the ceiling of the hangar burst apart like a twisted metal flower in bloom. The Strike launched through the armored building straight towards the Lilith with eyes gleaming. Before Thanatos could even utter a curse to himself the impact of the opposing suit rocketed his head back and forth in his seat. The tackle ended in mid air with the Lilith recovering and the Strike landing gracefully down on the asphalt below.

"Think you're clever huh?" Thanatos's voice shook with an anger that gave a subtle hint that Ciel had surprised him a little more than he had expected. The Lilith reared its right weapon arm to fire its beam rifle…only to find that it wasn't there to begin with. With a shock so debilitating Thanatos could hardly believe himself as the Strike turned and commenced firing at him with his own beam rifle. Luckily enough his panic had saved him through a series of mid air dodges letting the fire pass him by as he flew. The pilot had little time to know what had happened when the contact between both suits occurred let alone pay attention to his weapon arm before firing.

The Strike ran full stride around firing at the Lilith as it flew. Each time Ciel pulled the trigger and moved the toggle in for another shot he began to feel that each shot was becoming more and more accurate. Eventually the Lilith found it nearly a joke to evade in a different direction at all only to find that a beam had cut off its escape. With nowhere to go the Lilith boosted straight up and back in a complete loop. The loop ended close to the ground with the Strike in its path. The Lilith had pulled out a long lance like weapon from a hook on its back while in mid flight. The very end of the lance glowed a pale red as a blade of intense pink energy protruded from its side.

"It's a beam scythe?!" Ciel gasped in both awe and terror as the Lilith approached without declining in speed. Although the beam scythe was a two handed weapon the black Gundam still managed to protect itself with a shoulder mounted beam shield as it continued its charge. With each shot from the rifle the special beam absorbing mantle melted from the shields surface area. Sadly enough the fire was hardly repetitive or powerful enough to remove the hindrance from Ciel's attack.

Reaching deeper into the Gundam's capabilities Ciel utilized one of its most defining resistances. Switching the rifle to the opposite hand the Strike then aimed its right arm at the quickly approaching enemy. On the wrist near the hands a small firing compartment unfolded revealing six rounded nubs. In a split second the weapon fired and made contact with the opponents shield. The weapon was a cable firing mechanism with a magnetic stub at its end. Once fired the magnetic connecter activates and sticks to the target. The moment the stub makes contact it emits a paralyzing shock current that can drain, neutralize, or absorb the power of an enemy mobile weapon. Although the armament allowed Ciel to do just that all he really had in mind was disarmament.

The connecter stuck to the shield without fail. The instant Ciel knew he made physical contact he waited patiently for the Lilith to draw closer. Within a splinter of a moment the Gundam prototype evaded the Lilith and shot straight up, but this time went up and over the charging enemy. The Lilith passed by with pilot confounded and frustrated. With little time to execute, Ciel landed, turned and pulled back on the throttle reversing the thrust. The Strike braced itself as the weapons cable thinned. As hoped for the cable did not break away from the Lilith in fact it held without strain on the mechanism. The Lilith shot straight up as planned up and over Ciel's head. The transfer and manipulation of motion made it so the enemy Gundam could continue moving at its insane speed but in a controlled direction. Thanatos could hardly believe himself as his Gundam looked ready to take a plunge headfirst into the runway.

Sadly enough the Lilith decreased throttle and landed with its knee's braced as it twisted and faced the Strike once again. The crash of the Gundam's feet against the concrete was enormous. Had the mobile suit not been built with a phase shift system it would have been flattened upon impact.

"That was no good! Now we're back where we started fool!" Thanatos roared as he approached armed with the beam scythe.

That may have been true but now Ciel was prepared to go head to head this time. Accessing the mobile weapons close range defenses the Strike enabled the use of its beam sabers housed in its hips. A small triangular section detached ejecting the beam saber straight into the right hand of the Strike. The Lilith swung back with the scythe and came down with an over hand swing. Ciel jammed the left hand toggle upwards and pressed a pressure sensitive button. This activated the beam shield on the left arm as it rose to guard. The beam scythe splintered and curved around the shield of turquoise light giving the Strike an opportunity to retaliate. Ciel cranked the throttle to full once more, deflected the scythe away, and followed up with an upward slash with the beam saber. The red hot stream of flowing energy cut the body of the scythe in half rendering the close quarter's combat weapon useless. Now Thanatos really began to panic.

The PAWN Strike leaned back stretching out its left arm to fire the beam rifle point blank before the pilot could react. With fear mounting higher and higher the enemy pilot used a weapon of his own to counter. The Lilith Gundam ducked and tilted to the right while reaching for something from behind its shield. Ciel fired the weapon catching more than half of the Gundam's head blowing it apart. Ciel sensed a growing deception ready to spring upon him as the Lilith moved dishonestly. From out of the black veil of movement Ciel had pulled back in time as the Lilith flung an orb shaped object in his direction. Luckily because the pilot lost visual his aim was off. The orb or pod like projectile made contact with the rifle and deteriorated releasing a weapon well known for its atrocious and cowardly purposes. As the ball disintegrated it released what looked like on screen hundreds of small animal sized mechanical spiders.

"What in the hell are those?" Ciel growled as his eyebrows angled in irritation.

They were macro weapons designed to penetrate a target and destroy it from the inside out. As intended the small mechanical insects cut their way into the beam rifle with beam cutters and entered the weapon. Error messages popped up on screen indicating that the rifle was not functioning properly. Ciel jettisoned the rifle just in time as it exploded in a ball of green and red flames. Had the Strike's pilot not gotten rid of the beam rifle the macro weapons would have traveled to the arm and later into the body; the ensuing infection would have destroyed the Gundam ending the fight once and for all. Fortunately Ciel was smart to trust his gut, seeing as he wasn't a big fan of bug shaped things to begin with. All bugs ever did for Ciel was give him the heebee jeebies so more or less Ciel reacted out of a personal dislike for creepy crawlies. Now Ciel had run out of patience with his opponent.

"This is endgame!" Ciel reassured himself as he moved in for the kill.

With eyes glowing with celestial fire he pierced the very cockpit with his telepathy and waged psychological warfare with the pilot. Entering the corridors of the mind Ciel found himself already uncomfortable with his host. Thanatos was twisted and wicked to the core. In a series of steady photo flashbacks Ciel witnessed the death of the pilot's parents at the hands of a criminal coordinator, journeyed with him through his rigorous brainwash therapy, and now to the finality of the moment. The last thing that Thanatos would see before being burned alive would be the haunting image of the Strike standing in a field of merciless flames.

"Sol-!" The communicator transmission cut out before the pilot's cry for help could be finished. The Strike pulled back from its lunge and reverse thrust as the Lilith lit up like a Christmas tree. The third Gundam had been successfully destroyed. The explosion was quite the sight to behold seeing as the immediate area seemed to be enveloped by its intensity.

Standing rigid against a fiery background the PAWN Strike remained immobile for the moment. Ciel used the time he had to rummage through the channels on his communicator. Attempting to find the right channel to the ZAFT forces was his goal but he knew nothing about the transmission system. Unknowingly he accessed the international distress channel and proceeded to voice himself to anyone who would listen…which was everybody.  
"Mayday, mayday, I need assistance! Can anyone hear me?"

---

The pace quickened down the long white washed halls of the Bequest as the Captain stormed her way towards the bridge. Her bright green eyes cut sharply into anyone passing her by. As her footsteps clapped against the floor she adjusted her glasses as her co-captain joined her.

"Captain!" a woman of equal age to her superior exclaimed.

The captain's gaze shifted quickly to acknowledge her presence and then focused forward as they traveled.

"Details, details, details Moira. What's going on?" Her voice was especially deep but not without its feminine qualities. Her career and training had conditioned her to sound more like a man, as the standard would suggest.

"Lieutenant JG Lodi's squad is in need of some serious backup. The maintenance workers on dock one are working to open the turntable catapult so we can launch-" A massive tremor accompanied by an unforgettable rumble threw the two women about the corridors as the lighting above assumed and emergency red color. The warning lights were temporary and the regular lighting settled in once the intense rattling had stopped.

"Captain Lori, are you alright?" Co-captain Moira said regaining her balance while her legs trembled.

"Don't worry over me, continue with your update," The captain thundered angrily realizing that the ships cover was blown. This surprise attack would defiantly test her and the rest of the crew till the days end.

"As I was saying ma'am: mobile deck one is being prepped to launch Lieutenant Delbarton's Gelgoog," Moira spoke wiping the blood from her lips. The previous impact had knocked for a loop but somehow she managed to keep a level heading despite her splitting headache.

"What of Commander Garland? Can we use the Core Gundam?" The Captain panicked as she remembered the two units assigned to her care.

"The Core and all of its components have been gathered and stored. All Fragment equipment and Variation forms have been secured along with the Core armor," Moira said pulling her auburn red hair back in a ponytail remembering common conduct. Looking at her successor right next to her helped her to appreciate the fact that she had hair. She couldn't even fathom having her hair shaved off. Although applying that appearance to herself scared her she thought it looked quite strapping on the Captain.

The two uniformed women entered through a series of sliding mechanical doors and proceeded into the heart of the bridge. The bridge had been taken down two levels into the combat deck to ensure the safety of the "brains" of the ship. This feature was quite common in most ZAFT ships but this particular vessel had multiple levels of protection.

Surveying the situation as she assumed her seat at the command station. Captain Lori would soon be bombarded by bad news as the communications officer turned to her grimly.

"The enemy has set up an interference cloud around the entire colony. We can neither send communications to our ships or to relay messages to outer patrol. We do however still have open communication within the PLANT," The young man stated.

"Communicate via laser transmission," the Captain uttered as calmly and chillingly as possible. The air was growing thick with tension as more bad news came to her as she sat in her place.

"Captain, the overhang supports to the docking bay have collapsed onto the main catapult! We are unable to launch the Core Gundam into action!" Another young man bellowed from below at his station.

"Lodi's Kampher unit is in a deadlock and running low on munitions. We're unable to utilize the fire support system to assist her at this time," Another voice informed on the situation.

The Captain looked ready to scream if she were immature enough, but she kept it down to a low growl.

_"Is there anything going right?" _Her thoughts rang out inside her skull wishing for some sort of providence. The situation had not been looking good since the start and that fact that they were short one experimental prototype didn't weigh lightly on her shoulders.

"Captain!" The unit dispatcher exclaimed getting nearly everyone's attention.

"What is it Saria?" Moira asked looking over her shoulder at her terminal.

"We're receiving something over the international distress channel. The transmission is coming from the PAWN Strike; the Gundam has gone active!" Saria said nearly in a squeal. Everyone's head turned to her as she patched it through to the system speakers for the captain to hear. Captain Lori picked up her headset and readied herself to hear whatever it was she needed to hear.

"Mayday, mayday, can anyone hear me? Hello? ZAFT forces can you hear me? Fuck, this damned thing is useless!" A young man's voice rang out desperately to be heard throughout the bridge. Everyone's expression wrinkled in confusion and dismay seeing as it wasn't what they had expected. At worst they would have expected to pick up an outgoing message of a pilot hijacking the machine, but that was far from it. Even though their worst fears had not come true the Captain was still distressed to hear that the particular pilot was not the designated pilot.

"This is Captain Lori of the ZAFT ship the Bequest, identify yourself immediately," The Captain spoke with the same slick tone as she had done before. Randomly the cockpit camera of the Strike switched onscreen for the bridge to view.

"My name is Ciel Godsend. I'm a civilian from block seven hundred seventy seven. My ID number is 637-19-0888," The Newtype boy rambled in a panic. By now a slew of reactions to Ciel had made themselves apparent. Some looked uneasily and fearful as they squinted into the burning irises of the boys eyes. Others instinctually wanted to call for a medical group noting that the boy was caked in blood thinking that the boy was critically injured in some way. Only the Captain, co-Captain, and Unit dispatcher looked on with a professional awe.

"Young man, are you hurt?" Captain Lori asked diligently. Turning quickly towards Saria she snapped her fingers at her while the girl nodded. It was known first nature between the two that the analysis of a unit was crucial in determining its location and its status. It was unknown to anyone (which was everyone present) if the machine had been moved or if the boy knew how to manipulate it.

"What in the hell is going on? Why is the Earth Alliance attacking?" Ciel snarled over the communicator.

"I unfortunately do not have that information yet. Do you think you can move out of the hangar?" Captain Lori quickly asked.

"The Hangar? The hangar was destroyed when I was attacked by another Gundam," Ciel calmly informed. He couldn't help but feel babied by the authority seated before him on his screen. The Gundam seemed simple enough to pilot or so he thought at the very moment. All through his explaining Saria had been flamboyantly trying to get the Captains attention through flailing her hands but Lori remained oblivious.

"You were attacked?! Did you sustain any damage? Where is the enemy unit that attacked you?" The Captain said becoming a little more flustered.

Ciel blinked a few times at the Captain like she was stupid. _"Or maybe,"_ he thought, _"I could be the one looking awkward…"_

"The unit wasn't one of yours, it was part of an enemy group or a team. There were three units total but they've been destroyed," The young pilot attempted to calm the ZAFT official.

"How do you know this?" Moira spoke to the boy as she made her way over to the Captain.

Ciel knew he'd sound like a liar to these people who were most likely the elite of the elite. Then again if he brushed off the question it would make him out to be a hijacker or otherwise questionable.

"I did it, I destroyed the enemy Gundam's," Ciel nodded as solemnly as he could to convey the truth.

Moira nodded and bent down to whisper something to the Captain.

"You need to see this," Moira whispered gently. The Captain stood and politely excused herself letting Moira take over temporarily. Saria typed furiously at her console but stopped once the Captain arrived to look at the data on screen. There were figures that showed the limits of the Gundam's performance. Two graphs compared Ciel's performance to the designated pilots. The results were quite shocking at first glance.

"Just barely below advanced levels of activity compared to Shepard's test scores. How could this be?" The Captain said rubbing her hands together as if pained by arthritis.

"The numbers don't lie ma'am. This is the Gundam's first start up since its pre-trials. Either he's piloted a machine before, or…well I don't know," Saria said quietly. While the two puzzling minds absorbed the data, Moira stepped in to administer a little comfort to the unknown pilot.

"Okay Ciel, we're sending out someone to help you right now. The pilot of the Gundam will be there shortly. Just stay calm till then okay?" Moira smiled at the boy as she shifted to ask the whereabouts of the intended pilot. Saria turned to her and shrugged unknowingly.

_"How typical of Shepard, and at a time like this!"_ Moira snarled a private thought as she returned her attention to Ciel.

_---_

"How will I know its him? Is he coming by mobile suit?" Ciel asked getting a little nervous.

"Don't worry you'll know. He has the machines cockpit number so he should be able to reach you. Its unlikely that he's in a mobile suit seeing as all of our units are dispatched and are engaging the enemy," Moira advised as Ciel looked around anxiously for something to indicate the pilots arrival. After two anti-personnel sweeps the Strike indicated a small movement headed towards the suit. The Gundam's head turned as it sidestepped ready to walk in that general direction. The screen magnified the small image of a person on a customized motorcycle speeding quickly through the hangar yard towards Ciel. The young man was masked by the helmet he wore; it was impossible to identify him by looks alone.

Ciel guided the mobile suit towards the oncoming cyclist until he was interrupted by a brief and startling message.

"Mobile forces have been exhausted! The enemy mobile suit has broken through the defense line and is proceeding towards--" then there was silence as the communicator cut itself short. The words themselves made Ciel shiver in his seat and feel frigid. Whether or not he would acknowledge it to himself he knew that he had heard someone die. He felt the space around him get thicker and thicker as he closed his tearing eyes for but a moment. An alarm sounded and shook Ciel from his emotionally charged moment. A small red indicator on radar showed something approaching at incredible speeds. Mixed with the silenced voices of the dead he had just heard the hellfire in his eyes ignited full force once more.

The Gundam turned around and looked upwards at the oncoming object preparing to fight. Before aggression could be met with action Ciel hesitated when he sensed an incoming danger too close to comfort. His awareness expanded and sharpened as he pushed the throttle to full and pulled up on the foot pedals. As action was synchronized with premonition, the Strike dove forward just in time as a wire guided weapon came down from the left cutting a massive trench in the ground. The white mobile suit twisted around in mid air with its activated beam saber in hand and threw it up cutting the connecting cable. The Strike then thrust its feet back while firing its boosters causing it to be upright and standing once more.

Before Ciel could withdrawal another beam saber a rainstorm of green energy flowed down from above forcing the Gundam to guard with its energy shield. Pillars of great peridot green shot downwards and pierced straight through the runway, speckling it with burn marks. The shots angled and stopped as a blood red blur passed overhead.

Ciel disengaged the light shield and beheld a terrifying fourth Gundam come full circle and prepare for another onslaught of destruction. As Ciel readied himself something snagged his perceptions and forced him to look back towards where the remote weapon had landed. Maybe not even ten yards away from the impact lay the motorcyclist with his (now totaled) vehicle. With the eyes of an eagle he saw the pilots face. His helmet had been split apart and most likely it had saved his life. He was fairly young and about or around Ciel's age. His face was beautiful yet sturdy as he combed his fingers through his short jet-black hair. The pilot was quite handsome, as some would admit. Ciel's heart leapt for joy as he saw the pilot get to his feet.

"Thank goodness the pilots okay, no thanks to me," Ciel perked up before realizing he may have acted hastily.

Being glad should have come much later. Ciel had been too distracted by the uninjured pilot to detect the enemy Gundam heading straight for him. Without a moment to spare Ciel put up his guard again as the rain of energy came again from the enemy Gundam's VSBR (Variable Speed Beam Rifle) rifle. The emerald green beams deflected or dissipated on contact with the light shield on both arms. The rifle had much success in wiping out multiple enemies before hand, but now it looked as if it had been reduced to a nuisance. Again Ciel felt that the battle pattern was repeating itself as he sensed a growing danger coming from his right. The Newtype boy couldn't be more correct. A second cable-guided weapon flew towards him ready to catch the Strike of guard. Like the first dodged weapon, its shape looked similar to a dragonhead. On four sides of the bit like projectile were four grappling arms fitted with _"beam teeth"_ as Ciel put it. The constant barrage of laser fire had come to an end as the red Gundam passed overhead. The Strike took advantage of the intermission and booster jumped as the cable-guided bit looked ready to collide. Ciel fiddled with the foot pedals making the mobile suit pivot in mid air, spin around, and kick the remote weapon deflecting it away.

Just as the PAWN Strike landed on the runway the enemy Gundam came down like a red lightening bolt and rammed into the machine. The Strike was carried across two runway stretches then fell skidding across the asphalt. The crash would have knocked Ciel unconscious had it not been for his newly awakening abilities. Ciel's head hung while he remained suspended from his seat as if he had admitted defeat. Then the boys head shot up with a second wind as he reversed the throttle and yanked both control toggles back. The Strike launched off of its hands and knees into a roll just as the Arcaneus swooped down from above with its mega beam sword. The blade cut a perfect "V" trench in the ground as the weapon skimmed the ground. The rollover was rocky and quite jumbling, but Ciel regained control and stood once more.

The red Gundam flew upwards and transformed out of its mobile armor mode and landed with an assassin's grace. The mobile suits armament stood out just as much as its color did. The length of the beam rifle was most likely the same height as the suit itself. On its left arm was an aerodynamic looking shield that could cover the entire body of the suit in case of attack. The mega beam sword did little in the way of reassuring Ciel that his suit could combat such an intimidating weapon.

The Strike pulled its second beam saber from its side ready to defend itself while the Arcaneus looked ready to charge. The Arcaneus's beam rifle folded into two parts and was put on a weapon holder on its back. This let the crimson Gundam have the use of both of its hands should there be a need. Ciel could only wish that he had some long-range support of his own to hold his ground. Before the battle commenced an incoming transmission opened up in the Strikes cockpit.

"So it was you who destroyed my Gundam team?" A darker much more mature voice spoke to Ciel.

"Who is this?" Ciel responded defensively. Now Ciel looked poised to deal with an angry commanding officer with a blood lust, which didn't help matters much.

"Even for such a very simple unit you're a very skilled manipulator of that machine," The chilling voice replied. Ciel disregarded the subliminal comment and dove for the central question that plagued his mind's eye.

"Why did you attack this colony? What did the PLANT's do to you?" Ciel roared over the transmission. He could neither be denied his answer nor allowed an answer; the boy would only be met with more questions. His powers began to melt deeper and deeper into the inner workings of the Gundam connecting him to the most essential inner workings of the machine. Ciel's power was not limited to affecting just the Gundam. His powers were reaching, grasping, and yearning to be released as he reached an emotional climax that would decide his course of action. The breaking point was soon to be reached.

"The better question to ask is, why shouldn't the PLANT's be attacked?" the opposing pilot reasoned.

The Strike readied itself into a battle stance but did not act.

"That's totally sick!" Ciel raged ready to attack but held himself back. If anything Ciel figured that if he stalled long enough someone might come to his aid but that was looking rather impossible.

"What's sick about it? It would seem that the people of space are traversing farther and farther into the future, while the vulnerable earth wallows in its sub-par cycle. The Coordinators were bad enough until the arrival of the "super" Coordinators: the esteemed Newtypes!" Sol viciously remarked.

"Totally untrue! Studies have shown continuously that although Coordinators and Newtypes somewhat share similar abilities they are not genetically the same! Even Naturals or Oldtypes show some development in Newtype phenomena and eventually become Newtypes!" Ciel backed himself up with scientific truth.

"You're quite knowledgeable for someone your age, but seeing as you're a civilian I doubt you know the truth," Sol laughed as his Gundam also readied to strike. Then it suddenly came to Ciel that something was amiss with his enemy. Ciel may have lacked whatever characteristics of a typical solider Sol was looking for but he came to realize that nothing specific was voiced on his part, only Sol's. The Newtype boy held his tongue for a moment and decided to prolong the dialogue.

"The Newtypes are a peaceful people and desire unity! Although there have been weapons produced here at Leigas who's to say its to offend you?" Ciel's thoughts began to race as his mind wandered the paths of his poetic soul.

"Can you not see what you're piloting boy? It's a brand new Gundam designed and programmed to operate in conjunction with a new ZAFT ship! That aside, you've only been piloting that suit for a minimum of ten minutes and already you've destroyed the Lilith. Newtypes are truly horrific monsters," The enemy Gundam pilot sneered.

Ciel could hold his peace no longer.

"Then what's a Newtype like you doing with the Atlantic Federation?"

The soul shocking revelation ripped Sol from his façade and backed him into a corner. Without actually knowing whom he was actually trying to attack mentally Sol realized that the same boy who he had seen on the communications tower was the same one piloting the Gundam. Remembering the boy's opalescent eyes and burnt golden hair only dug up memories of the sad young man he had once been.

"Prove it!" Sol bellowed pushing the throttle to attack.

Ciel's power hit a plateau and acted upon its own will. The Strike assumed a defensive position as the Arcaneus flew forward with beam sword ready. Closing his eyes Ciel projected his consciousness into the Arcaneus. He phased through the armor and the monitors to find that he was in the cockpit with Sol. The soldiers charcoal brown hair and dark black eyes painted the picture of a lonely soul hiding behind the veil of assumed normalcy. Gently and without the faintest trace of detection Ciel pulled the knowledge of the communication channels from Sol's back brain and used them to his advantage. Unbeknownst to Sol his image from inside the cockpit had been broadcast to his ship, the Victory Nine.

With a sudden gasp of air Ciel opened his eyes returning his sight and soul to the here and now. The Arcaneus swung violently with its beam sword in a horizontal slash. The Strike activated the left arms light shield buffering the attack while the right hand pulled back as if to deal a physical blow. The wrist compartment on the arm opened and fired all six connecter cables, each one of them landing on an area on the torso or waist. Without a moment to lose Ciel activated the voltage to full. In what seemed like an improbable moment to Sol, Ciel had set his plan into motion. The opposing Gundam sparked and spazzed uncontrollably as its energies were slowly being depleted. All while this was taking place the pilot remained unprotected. The cockpit shuttered while sparks flew around the screaming pilot.

_In the circle of light as he sat contemplating his unbelievable demise, the depths of Sol's heart began to call out. A twister of memories and unfulfilled dreams erupted in the caldera of his will, as a reflection of his inner self came up from the abyss of uncertainty. In a sequential awakening Sol's Newtype potential came out in an act of self-preservation. His hair faded into a deep midnight blue while his eyes turned twilight violet. The seed, which had been suppressed, burst forth with new life once again._

---

In the bridge of the Victory Nine Captain Nim observed in a mixed expression of surprise and disgust. The bridge officers present shared in that same distain as they watched Sol's transformation unfold before their very eyes. Adjusting his cap he grit his teeth and tried his hardest to form a smile on his face despite the apparent betrayal.

"Reprogram the IFF and register the Arcaneus as an enemy unit," Nim growled. The unit dispatchers face warped with fright as he heard those words.

"Sir, wouldn't it be more practical to obtain the Arcaneus and reassign-" The officer's forehead exploded onto his station as a gunshot rang out. Without a second thought the Captain had withdrawn his pistol, fired, and killed the young man. Alarm was in large supply as each and every person looked and witnessed the brutal "punishment" their commanding officer employed. The still body of the officer remained unmoving while a dead expression of shock lay imprinted forever on his face.

"May this be a warning to you all. Anyone willing to shelter or excuse a Newtype will be subject to the same fate as officer Williams. An investigation will be held to confirm the matter and root out all possibilities of treason." Captain Nim said placing his gun back in its holster. "Guards, remove his body at once."

All personnel knew that Captain Nim was firmly racist against the Newtypes but to witness its extent was quite terrifying. There was no argument – only silent compliance.

"This is a perfect opportunity to test the Marionettes. Have all suits programmed to combat level one and have a gradual increase streaming APA (Artificial Personality Assimilation). We have at least one Newtype enemy to test the integrity of the system. Have all IFF listings reset to default," Captain Nim shuddered as the thoughts infected his excitement.

From the catapults on each side of the ship a blue GM (General Mass production) mobile suit prototype appeared and activated. Their bodies had been colored a deep royal blue while sporting a vigil resembling a light blue circle surrounded by arrows on their shoulders. The mobile suits launched and entered the PLANT through the harbor. A separate squad was sent to attend to the civilian shuttles that were leaving for L1.

"We will test the ANTI (Antithesis Newtype Termination Ignition) programs efficiency in battle and see for ourselves whether or not man or machine will win," Captain Nim smiled. He placed his right hand to his chest to uphold his allegiance in a silent remembrance.

_"For the preservation of our pure blue world,"_ the Captain whispered under his breath.

---

The Arcaneus caught two of the cable weapons with its CIWS hornets as Ciel retracted the remaining weapons. The beam sword of the red Gundam increased its output as the pilot continued his assault; Sol made sure he had the greater capability to end things first. The Strike stepped back a few steps and positioned the beam saber to guard. The super powered beam sword came down from above aided by the force of the enemy Gundam's thrust. The beams clashed with the sound of cracking electricity as sparks of energy emanated from the impact. The sword was too much for the saber to propel under its own power, which made Ciel resort to evasive maneuvers. The Strike knocked the beam sword away with its own weapon and looked to boost to its right. With Newtype powers flowing, the pilot of the Arcaneus countered by hovering and spinning around in a reverse kick. Ciel's precognitive powers were able to pick up on the action, resulting in a brisk wrist guard. The shin came into contact with the wrist sending the beam saber in the Strikes hand to fall away and deactivate. Now Ciel was nearly defenseless.

The PAWN Strike made use of its wrist cables and fired them again at close range. With a single swipe of the beam sword the Arcaneus managed to deflect the majority of the weapons away from itself while the rest of the connecters stuck on its shield. The Arcaneus ignored and continued to move forward carelessly. Ciel activated the reverse flow setting allowing the power from the Strike to send a powerful charge into the Arcaneus rather than drain. Various instruments in the red Gundam's cockpit broke down and became useless. The right visor screen shattered while the main radar and option panel sparked and exploded into shrapnel.

Sol discarded the shield, which ended the flow of hazardous electricity into the body. With a single diagonal swipe of the beam sword the particle beam took with it the left hand of the Strike. The TP (Trans-Phase Shift) armor melted and cooled into a scalded gray stigma. The Strike moved back slightly as the Arcaneus reached behind for its weapon pack; Sol would finish off this fight with his massive long-range weapon. Ciel's found himself between two actions: attain the beam saber just beyond his range or continue to engage a far more advanced weapon, ready to fire its main weapon. Constraint suffocated the Newtype boy as he remained between choices; either one could save or end his life.

_In a panorama of memory and divided thought, Ciel entered into a trance. He looked upon himself and studied, magnified, and pondered everything that had happened. In a rush of lights and sounds Ciel saw himself with his friends again, alone and heartsick over their loss, triumphantly winning the battle in a brisk offensive, and departing into death with the igniting sound of a beam weapon. _

The entire cockpit of the Strike flooded with a light so radiant every crevice and opening on the Gundam rained light. Every functioning piece of hardware became super charged while the internal battery reading temporarily glitched as "unlimited." Just as the VSBR rifle unfolded the PAWN Strike turned its head and let loose with its CIWS. The vulcan rounds ripped through the sight and upper barrel causing the weapon to malfunction. The rifle barrel eventually buckled along with its reusable power source and bent down towards the ground. In a fateful moment the vulcan's pierced the capacitor clip causing a single saved shot to discharge from the rifle. The explosion of green light carved through the Gundam's right leg; the explosion caused the crippled mobile suit to go airborne. Now the Arcaneus flew with beam sword pointed at its enemy ready for the kill. Ciel's power burst forth from the Strike and began to effect objects strangely. While he paid no attention, the rubble on the ground became as light as a feather while small pebbles on the runway floated upwards; it seemed as if gravity had been affected in some way or another.

The PAWN Strike reversed thrust as the Arcaneus approached with growing ferocity. Ciel sensed the area around him and felt that he would soon be over the beam saber that had been dropped near the continuation of the battle. The great white humanoid weapon flew over the cylinder like weapon while the enemy pursued; the weapon on the ground however began to react to Ciel's power. Just as Sol was upon the Strike to complete its assault, Ciel sprung his plan into action. Completely ignoring the red Gundam, the Strike stretched out its right hand as if to call its fallen weapon to its hands. Instead of returning to its rightful owner the beam saber came to life and shot straight up impaling the Arcaneus through the forearm. The beam sword became inactive as the red Gundam plummeted to the ground. The Arcaneus had been successfully disarmed.

---

Sol gasped for air holding in a curse as he yanked a small scrap of metal from his thigh. A mixture of blood and sweat poured from the young man's face as his breathing intensified through his safe-suit helmet. He had been utterly defeated; his entire career as a closeted Newtype soldier ended by a mere civilian piloting (by appearance) a sub-par machine. Although he had been struck down he oddly enough felt no enmity towards the other pilot. A communications channel from the Strike opened up in the cockpit as an audio only frequency.

"Get out," Ciel commanded in a tone that demanded no question.

"What did you say?" Sol winced as he took the control toggles in his hands once more.

"I said get out of that suit,"

"What the hell are you doing letting me go?"

Ciel's expression soured. He knew that he should have ended the fight just as he had destroyed the other mobile suits, but unlike the others, this pilot had something to him that couldn't be figured out.

"The ONLY reason I'm not ending you at this moment is because you're different," Ciel empathized.

Sol had no returning compassion to show Ciel – in fact; he wanted to push the limits so that his life might end with some form of dignity.

"Spoken like someone who believes in genocide,"

"No, don't warp me: I spare you not because you're simply a Newtype, but because you're a terrible liar."

Sol gritted his teeth in confusion as he rammed his head into the back of his seat in disappointment. He had hoped that the enemy pilot was a hot head that could turn his morals around on a fringe divide; of course of all things, Sol ended up with a person who's heart could not be measured.

"What does that mean?" Sol forced the words through his teeth.

"It means you had a reason to lie and to be here. It means you're trying to accomplish something that, at this point, is beyond my understanding,"

Sol tried not being frustrated so that he could absorb the words coming to him from someone he wished he were.

"But you know what your problem is?" Ciel said ready for a non-comical punch line.

"What?" Sol said readying for an insulting finish to the dialogue.

"You're just standing in with the worst crowd," Ciel said shrugging his shoulders.

---

As the light emanating from Ciel's eyes dimmed down the boy noticed a small popup window in the corner of the display in front of him.

"Biological Integral Operation (BIO) sensor deactivating? What's a BIOsensor? Ciel said reaching for the control console. Before Ciel could learn about the mysterious system the radar blared an alarming warning that got his immediate attention. Ciel looked down at the 3D radar display in front of him to find that eight unknown enemy units entered the colony and were heading for the bay.

Ciel didn't want to get involved in another fight seeing as he had exhausted the suit's power drastically after his last bout. Zooming in on the ruins of the hangar Ciel found the pilot running out towards the Gundam. The handsome young man, although injured, still managed to sprint without resting.

A small lifting on the foot pedals made the Gundam run as well. Ciel took extra care to slow himself as he neared the human below him. Estimating the best meeting point between them Ciel stopped on the second runway and shifted the throttle into neutral. Pushing down on the pedals the Gundam prestigiously knelt slowly to the ground with an outstretched arm. The approaching pilot remained unsure as he came to the Gundam's hand. He looked up just as Ciel opened the cockpit.

As the hand of the Gundam neared its chest, carrying with it the intended pilot, Ciel stood holding onto the upper latch with his right hand while his left reached out ready to lend a hand. And there they were, meeting for the very first time under the worst of circumstances. Their eyes met holding within them a certain solicitude that was meaningless between them. Disregarding everything and casting worry aside Ciel spoke with a welcoming heart.

"I'm Ciel Godsend,"

Now the Newtype boy could see the other man's eyes; they shimmered bright platinum silver, which put the most beautiful stars in space to shame. Of course those same eyes were saying the exact same things about Ciel's. The young soldiers eyes became as sharp as a blade as he took the boy's hand nervously yet firmly

"Lt. Commander Joshua Shepard," he nodded.

Before anything more could be exchanged Ciel pulled the young man into the suit just as it began to stand. The cockpit closed while Joshua was forced to sit behind the seat as Ciel beat him to the punch.

"I'm sorry but I'm going to have to ask you to get out of _MY _seat," The Lt. Commander said in an aggitated, more informal tone.

"No time, we have a small squad headed for the bay area!" Ciel said adjusting the toggles. The PAWN Strike's head turned and looked up and beyond the colonies core pillar. Eight mobile suits, all royal blue in color, came down in an intimidating "V" formation from the freight harbors. Ciel could see them clearly to the point where he could read the serial code embalmed on each of their shoulders; Joshua tapped on the keyboard to get a zoomed in visual. With a few more keystrokes a small analyzing table popped up on the front view of the screen showing only the frame of the mobile suit. The blue units themselves remained unknown to the combat computer but were still registered as enemy units.

"General Mass-Production suits, the superiors to the Daggers?" Ciel nearly shrieked letting his inner nerd be known.

The black haired solider continued to type rapidly on the console and eventually gave up on the analysis.

"Where is your ship at? Are you stationed nearby?" Ciel said turning to the silver-eyed youth.

"The center radar indicator is you, enemy units are labeled red like you noticed, and active friendly units are blue," The pilot said pointing to the small 3D radar display on the console. "My ship is at dock six eighty five just beyond the shuttle runways that we're on right now,"

"Right!" Ciel shook. The Strike took to the air with a tremendous boost that sent the two pilots sky high up and over the hangars and runways. As the scenery lay out before Ciel's eyes he noticed that the most intense fighting had taken place. An entire dock had become concave cradling a ship while a port overhang lay across the top of the deck. The ship was in serious trouble, as it seemed.

"Captain! I've retrieved the PAWN Strike and I'm heading for the Bequest right now," Joshua bellowed professionally over the communicator to the bridge. Instead of video feed it remained a plain audio transmission. By recognition Ciel was able to tell that it wasn't the first woman he had talked to, but the second one.

_"Lt. Commander Shepard, what is the suits status?"_ Co-Captain Moira spoke nervously. Before Shepard could rightly reply to his superior Ciel spoke without thinking.

"The Gundam has taken a little damage and most of its weapons have been depleted," Ciel stopped there before he got himself in further trouble. Shepard looked quite surprised at first but then a sort of jealousy jumpstarted his personality. Before he could say anything Moira spoke again after a bit of a pause. She wasn't expecting to hear from the boy; rather, she had hoped to chew out Shepard for his utter carelessness for not being at his assigned station. She held her piece and continued transmission.

"Mr. Godsend, I'm glad to see that you've gathered the pilot," Moira said keeping herself as cool as her Captain. Captain Lori had been analyzing the inflow of data along with the unit operations officer, Saria, in hopes of understanding the Newtype boy's influence on the machine.

"There are eight more enemy units coming down from the main shaft onto the harbor. We don't have to worry about anymore Gundam's though, they've been taken care of," Ciel risked speaking again.

"Did Lt. Com. Shepard take care of the enemy prototype suit that broke through our first line?" Moira asked.

There was a silence at first from the pilot but then he spoke shockingly after a quick glance at Ciel's confusion.

"No actually, I was unable to pick him up before the red Gundam attacked me," Ciel responded.

"Extremely impressive young man," the Captain's awe was openly detectable which made Joshua feel ever so slightly jealous.

Ciel didn't know whether or not to smirk or to laugh at first when he took a glance at the pilot behind him. Unknown to Ciel or Shepard was the battle data comparison being recorded in the ship; that was the final judge that proved the truth.

"Young man are you still piloting that machine?" the Captain asked.

"Um, yes, yes I am," Ciel, said nervously.

"I have one favor to ask,"

"And what is that favor?"

"We need you to unblock our central catapult. The dock supports have collapsed on top of the deck and now they're keeping us from launching our units,"

"Fine, I'll do my best," Ciel honorably blushed.

"But Captain! -" Shepard said interjected with disagreement. Ciel began to feel a little intimidated as he sensed a growing air of frustration.

"Once that task is finished Lt. Cm. Shepard will safely transport you to the ship – no arguments," She said addressing both Ciel and Joshua consecutively. Although Ciel had nearly outdone the pilot in performance he was still a civilian and needed to be given direction.

The Strike landed with a mechanical thud and clicking sound and then jumped back into the air igniting its boosters. The hollow feeling in Ciel's stomach thrilled him as he took to the air and seemingly flew there for a few seconds before coming back down again. Just as the Strike came down for a third jump Ciel's senses spiked as the enemy units took aim at him from quite a distance.

"They're here!" Ciel growled as his eyes sparked with anger rising.

Dark indigo colored beams struck the ground from high above. Had Ciel not sensed them the Strike would have surely lost a leg. The shock wave carried the suit a ways before Ciel activated the light shield to guard against any further aggression.

"We can't fight in this condition, we'll be killed if we stay any longer," Joshua said interjecting on their behalves.

The Strike evaded swiftly towards the harbor and from there, Ciel could see the ships bridge and deck sticking up from the docks.

"There's no way we'll make it at this rate – we're outnumbered!" Joshua growled.

"Where there is will…" Ciel trailed.

---

The Arcaneus had miraculously gotten to its feet by now and stood with mutilated body somehow intact. Sol had no idea what he would do next or how he would go about accomplishing it. He didn't feel a compulsion to fight the other boy, and now, let alone the ZAFT forces. He had been found out by an insignificant boy who he had attempted to kill to cover up his agenda. He could feel his stomach wretch with guilt as the years he trained extensively to get where he was, flashed before his eyes.

He reached to his communicator that had been spared by the damage…only to find that it was already linked to the Victory Nine. His heart sank to the pits of despair as Captain Nim beat him to the punch.

"Captain!" Sol exclaimed blatantly like a child hoping to avoid punishment.

"You are hereby relieved to call me that, Sol," The Captain's cold voice sound aloud over the speaker.

For Sol, the how was irrelevant, it was the "what now" that worried him the most.

"You are a traitor to your own kin, to both your brethren Newtypes and to our forces. It would appear that your "dark practices" were the only thing that gave you an edge in battle – how distasteful. Although I am surprised Sol. You were sneaky enough to hide your true potential from the council and me…and for this long. How careless of us not to see the signs," The Captain steadily mocked.

Sol's true demeanor to the Captain revealed itself in a final act of rebellion.

"I'm just sorry I didn't get to the bottom of the councils inner workings. From there I would have gladly taken your worthless lives and ended the hate!" Sol spat venomously.

"Yes, well, it's too bad that you couldn't even save your loved ones life before hand," Captain Nim sighed evilly. The video monitors activated showing an image that turned Sol's blood to burning dry ice. There he saw a young man with half of his face missing from the upper cranium to the lower left eye. It was the unit dispatcher who had stood up for him, his comrade, his protector, but more importantly he was his loving companion.

"Micah -- NO!!!" Had anybody else in the bridge been tuned in to this conversation, Sol's cry fro repentance would have surely been a trigger for physical illness; the Captain, however, had no heart to feel.

"Such a shame actually, had he not kept your secret he would have surely lived without consequence. But this was bound to happen one way or another; my suspicions about you two were correct after all. Is there anyone else I should know about Sol?" The Captain chuckled.

"MONSTER!!!" Sol shrieked.

"Who is the real monster Sol? The one who can move things with his mind and tap into people thoughts? Or is it a man who wishes to uphold a higher law?" The Captain questioned with a chilled tone.

Sol could say nothing as he bawled his heart out while buried his face as best he could against the side rests of his seat.

"You truly are a sad creature. The Marionette's have been mobilized to destroy everything; Coordinators and Newtypes alike will share in the poison we've pumped into the atmosphere in the colony. Don't bother coming back to the ship – you'll likely find that you're-" the Captain paused for effect "- out of place here.

The communications ended leaving the young man all alone and abandoned. He had lost his cover, identity, and companion in a single day. His deep-rooted plans for revenge against his own forces had been thwarted for good and there was no meaning left in living. Sol slumped over as his sides ached with sorrow while his breathing became labored. Before he had a chance to take hold of a piece of shrapnel and end his life, violet colored beams had caught his attention.

Through eyes blurred and buffered by tears he knew that his senses had detected the boy that he fought earlier. The boy was in trouble. Turning his unit he spied the beam saber that had been used to sever his Gundam's right arm. Then Sol's attention turned towards the fighting going on in the harbor yard. In an instant the look of hurt in his eyes changed into a determined scowl. Although he had attempted to kill the enemy pilot without thinking, his opponent did not see eye to eye with him. In a very odd comparison he saw a glimmer of his lost friend in the boy he had engaged in combat. If this would be Sol's last hour, it would surely be his finest.

---

The enemy GM's were more than Ciel or Joshua had expected. They lacked instinct and uniqueness, rather, they moved with a unison and precision that got Ciel's immediate attention. Dodging one shot only lead to two or three more shots to be fired from behind or from the side. The boy eventually found himself scrambling desperately to gain an upper hand as the pattern of battle increased in difficulty.

"Let me take over!" Joshua barked as he hit his head against the right monitor. His voice was becoming more and more agitated as the fight prolonged itself.

"Shut up and let me work!" Ciel barked back as the luster in his eyes grew more in intensity.

A beam shot from above struck the light shield and dissipated. Before Ciel could maneuver or go in pursuit of the enemy his senses picked up two more GM's from behind ready to fire. The Strike shot to its left while turning to guard against the shots as they came. Ciel had to get as close as he could to one of the units and then initiate a plan of action. Fighting at long range was wearing down the suits power; continuing to defend in that position would ultimately lead to defeat.

Just as Ciel had deflected three more shots one of the royal blue GM's came up from behind and activated a beam saber. The Strike turned with its right hand aimed and fired the remaining wrist cables at the enemy suit. The connecters of the weapon cracked the head visor on the mobile weapon knocking out its main vision. Now as the Strike hovered to its backside, the enemy suit was paralyzed by a current of energy traveling out of its body. The Strike took the opportunity from behind and locked both of its arms around the GM's waist. The remaining suits hesitated to fire now that one of its own units had blocked their chance. A temporary halt in long range combat ceased as the remaining GM's hovered around attempting to get in a shot. Ciel adjusted the Strike's position accordingly to avoid any chance of being hit.

The weapon cable had been wrapped around the GM to the point where the right arm was pinned down, while the other was caught between the Strike's arm and its own body. The steady stream of energy from the GM began to replenish the Gundam's power supply as the death hold continued. By now the Gundam's power level had shown to be at its warning capacity. Had the Gundam been completed the battle time would have been elongated by a hundred fold. Ciel took this time to multitask and uncover the mysteries of the mobile suit type and as to why it was so difficult to fight.

Ciel's consciousness traveled a small distance away into the body of the suit. Although his vision was fuzzy because of hindered concentration it did not stop him from detecting the lack of a heartbeat. It was then that Ciel knew that the pilot and he were in serious danger. Ciel didn't need to see into the future to be right about what happened next. One of the other enemy units took aim disregarding its ally in hopes of destroying the Gundam.

_Ciel was exhausted, and his powers were beginning to act on a defensive mechanism. The weight of the battle trauma had begun to settle heavily onto Ciel's shoulders; the unconfirmed death of his friends was also a factor contributing to a growing tension from within. Then there was a slip of consciousness. The vibrancy in the Newtype boy's eyes faded and crossed over into a pitch-black hue. The distinguishable fire that had been there before still shown brightly, but this time it took on a feral, darker, instinctual aura. As the enemy prepared to fire Ciel had been lost to himself – cast deeper and deeper into a consciousness within an unconscious state. _

In a voice that was hardly his own, the Newtype boy's speech lingered in a sentient echo.

_"I feel it rise within me,"_

Once again the mysterious BIOsensor activated illuminating the Gundam with a strange sensation.

The Strike sidestepped while ripping the GM's beam saber from its hand. Disengaging the remaining cables the Gundam evaded just as a violet streamer of light pierced the mobile suits chest. The suit burst into flame and exploded sending its empty shell to the ground. The onslaught of beam weapons resumed as the Strike moved closer and closer to the docks.

The outcome of the fight looked dire for the single Gundam against its seven foes; but even with those odds, Ciel's focus continued to sharpen to extraordinary heights. Each move the enemy made slowed down to an arctic pace with no direction. He could tell where they were going and when the trigger would be pulled. Everything had been broken down into its most basic principles: future motion laid out like an open book, the learning capabilities could be stunted, and the incoming fire could be deflected with just the right suggestion.

One of the more risky GM's attempted another flanking attack. It swooped down with its own beam saber ready to administer a finishing blow; but Ciel's altered state knew it would happen as it caught wind of the enemy protocol.

The BIOsensor pushed the beam saber to its strongest output, causing it to become wavy like a solidified torch. The ridiculously immense beam was strong enough to attain the attention of nearly everyone that may have been within the vicinity. A gigantic horizontal spin slash cut apart the GM at the waist before it had time to think about attacking. The two halves exploded swallowing the PAWN Strike in a sea of flames.

As the remaining blue GM's regrouped a red blur caught their attention, but it was far too late for two unsuspecting units. The Arcaneus came down upon its first victim like a swooping hawk, cutting it into two perfect halves. The other enemy close by was caught up in the aftermath of the blast and ceased to function.

"YOU get out of the colony!" Sol screamed as he reached the PAWN Strike.

_Both fortunately and unfortunately, Sol's voice acted as an anchor. The sound of his voice forced Ciel to resurface from his trance – ending the mysterious dark altered state. The rush of returning back to a fuller consciousness incapacitated Ciel's abilities as he returned. The black glassy hue dissipated and the Newtype boy's eyes burnt brightly once more._

Ciel had remembered the state to some extent but the terror of knowing what it might have been kept Ciel at a distance. The boy ignored and continued to the ship as the remaining enemies focused their attention on the Arcaneus.

"Who the hell was that? Was that the enemy Gundam pilot?" Lt. Cm. Shepard yelled.

"Yes it was," Ciel said as he boost jumped from the flames and into the sky once more to reach the ship.

"You were careless not to finish him," Shepard glared.

"You can't expect me to know, let alone do, everything you ask," Ciel protested in his own defense.

"Well you can get to the ship and do as the Captain asked," the pilot snapped.

Ciel turned with an irritated expression.

"This maybe an emergency, but you don't have to snap at me you ass,"

The two exchanged glares as their decent began. Ciel could see the ship now in most of its glory. Aside from the collapsed repair structure blanketing the main catapult it looked amazing. Unknown to Ciel was the fact that what he saw was only on the surface – the rest of the ship was hidden beneath the rest of the dock. The Gundam landed to the right of the central catapult, which was blocked by the wire frames of the fallen towers. Ciel angled the toggles and the Gundam gave a mighty slash with its super powered beam saber cutting apart the fallen structure. While the work was taking place a video transmission accessed the cockpit.

"This is Commander Garland, how are you holding up?" Another young man bellowed from inside his safe suit.

Ciel looked up while multitasking and addressed him as politely as the situation would allow.

"I'm almost done sir, maybe no more than fifteen seconds," Ciel reassured. The metal towers had become fragments of scrap metal and molten pieces as the Gundam traveled down the walkway. With a final defining slash the rest of the structure had been cleared away from the catapult.

"Okay you can launch!" Ciel shouted back as the Gundam jumped on top of the catapult waiting for the remaining Gundam to launch. There was a small time of peace that was welcomed with open arms. Ciel turned and looked towards the hangars and watched beams of light crisscross as explosions littered the runways. Ciel didn't know it at the moment but he had significantly influenced the heart of another human being.

As the catapult array opened up unfolding its rail stabilizers the success was halted by a terrible revelation.

_"Enemy unit detected entering the colony!" _A female voice warned from over the communicator. Lt. Cm. Shepard jumped when he heard the voice over the transmission.

"Lodi! Are you alright?" Shepard questioned urgently.

The question was completely ignored as the woman spoke again. It took Ciel a second or two to realize that he wasn't the one being addressed.

_"Go ahead Lieutenant," _Captain Lori responded.

_"Jonas's recon unit has identified it as another GM type, but it's carrying a WMD!"_ The female pilot gasped as she reported.

Everyone's insides jumped with an electrical charge of terror as they heard those words. Not a second later the woman reported once more with increased distress in her voice.

_"It's a chemical weapon, it's a nerve agent!"_ She gasped.

The Captain spat out orders like watermelon seeds, each one demanding absolute obedience and diligence.

_"Lieutenant Lodi, pull back your marines and head back to the Stanton. Your mission outside the PLANT is finished for now; we've done all we can. Commander Garland, abort the launch and restart the fragment assembly again. The enemy clearly wants what we have... so lets give them what they want! Remaining units are to return to Bequest – we're launching now!" _Captain Lori ordered.

Ciel was in shock and could not move. The traumatic experience had taken its toll on the teenage boy and the thought of the colony being gassed pushed him over the edge.

"They're going to gas the colony?!?" Ciel screamed hysterically.

_"Shepard, who is that?"_ Lt. Lodi asked curiously.

"Calm down and return to the ship; there's nothing we can do anymore," Shepard said with growing agitation.

"NO! I wont let this happen!" Ciel proclaimed as he pushed the throttle to full ready to lift off.

The butt of a pistol cracked the back of the Newtype boy's head before anything could happen. Wide eyed and betrayed to the very core, the boy's hair and eye color reverted back into normalcy. Ciel became completely limp while Shepard pushed him forward taking his seat. Adjusting accordingly to comfort, Ciel was cradled in the pilots lap as he assumed control of the mobile suit. The Strike moved down onto the catapult and entered nonchalantly as commanded. Entering the hanger mainframe manually he came face to face with the Core Gundam in all of its customizable glory.

"I need a medic team and security to transport the civilian," Joshua requested as he entered the mobile suit deck.

The PAWN strike had been hoisted in its restraints and put on hold for repairs as the pilot exited carrying the civilian boy in his arms. The Core Gundam's double shaft cockpit opened and Lt. Cm. Shepard's commanding officer stepped out with questioning expression.

"Is that the boy?" he asked gently.

"Yeah," Shepard's aloof attitude brushed him off impolitely, "Quite a pain in the ass as well,"

"What did you do to him?" Cm. Garland asked.

"Nothing permanent, sadly," Shepard hummed as he carefully descended holding the boy. Garland shook of the Lieutenants rude comments and just stared inquisitively at the peaceful face of the boy.

Descending with the young man in his hands his conscience betrayed his attitude as his guilt bestowed conviction for his harsh words. He hated that and more than anything wished that he had no basis for apology; it was his own flaw, characteristic of him and him alone. Luckily for him no one really paid any attention as he neared the ground so he took the time to say a silent "I'm sorry dude."

The emergency team had been there before the Lt. had landed. With care they loaded Ciel onto a stretcher and cuffed him to the bed for security precautions. Just before the Core Gundam was hauled off to the weapon assembly the Captain came on the hangars loud speakers to inform the crew of the imminent situation.

_"This is the Captain speaking. At this time all emergency procedures for immediate departure have been undertaken in protection of this ship and its crew. At this time the motive for the Earth Alliance attack is unknown as are its justifications. The enemy has cut off all communications in an attempt to "black out" any information coming to or from our colony. Their objective, as apparent as it is, is to capture this ship and its prototype machinery; for what purpose is currently unknown. In order deal with our enemies we must escort the remaining evacuation shuttles to side one. In doing so we will have protected what remains of the population and spread the word to the other nations. This is not a mission of defense and escort; it is a trial of survival. All mobile suits are to be prept for battle ASAP. Our sister ships the Stanton and the Niaves will be our support. It would appear that yesterday's peace is gone; so lets do our best to make a peace for tomorrow," _

---

"Sir! All Marionettes have been disabled or destroyed! Data is irrecoverable!" A technician reported from his post as Captain Nim growled angrily. "All of our mobile suit forces have been exhausted sir, what is our next course of action?"

"Withdrawal from this area immediately. Have the remaining cruisers follow in pursuit of the Bequest; we cannot allow that ship to continue to survive. We must at all costs extinguish any witness to the attack – a total information blackout is crucial to the mission. Have the Capius and Helena intercept them before they reach side one. There is no margin for failure," The Captain thundered as he threw a fist down on his console. For the first time in a long time, Captain Nim felt the ominous foreshadow of ruin upon his doorstep.

---

**Ending Song: COLORS by Hikaru Utada**

---

Authors note

Well the second chapter has been posted, but I will be reading it over to tweak any incorrections it may have (which I'm sure there are many).

For those of you who are worried about where the mainstream characters from Seed and Destiny - please do not fret - they will be making their apperances shortly. Otherwise this fic would be boring to many of you.

Its been difficult to make a plot but I've managed to pull something together. Most of the plot stems from a lack of alagory from the original series (Mobile Suit Gundam, Zeta, Double Zeta, Char's Counterattack etc. et.c). There is a character that was introduced who mirrors the role of Lalah Sune... I'm sure its not that difficult to figure out (considering I modeled the character after her directly) but I promise to give anyone a cookie if they can name my original character lol.

I've been told that my writing style lacks comedy, drama, emotion, and complexity. I try not to drone on and on about things but rather give a treasure trove of detail to paint a picture for the reader. This is my first fic in which I've honestly put my all into describing intense battle scenes so if they're good, I'll keep them. I've sprinkled a little comedy here and there and I plan on diving deeper into each character and giving them distinct backgrounds...maybe I'll throw in a little romance? In any case, I'm attempting to make my writing better.

...I read through this chapter and I find a little mistake here or there and it does bug the hell out of me. Thankfully, for you, the reader, I have a friend who can help me proof read my work and help to make it look less sloppy. Things have been quite hellish over the holiday so it will be difficult to fix on my time schedule. I do apologise greatly.

I'm definatly a love/hate fan of Destiny, so anything I didn't like about Destiny will be directly addressed with my fic (hopefully). If you would like to suggest something you would definatly want to see me write, please don't hesitate. You might just get your wish!


	3. Phase Three: Across the Divide

Gundam Seed Harvest 

**Chapter 3: Across The Divide**

_Previously_

_In an intense battle Ciel Godsend was able to utilize an incomplete version of the Gundam PAWN Strike to defeat the Lilith Gundam and its pilot. In a brief exchange the Newtype boy was able to contact ZAFT's new super ship the Bequest and request assistance. After an unspeakable display of power and capability the crew found that the civilian boy had pushed the mobile suit to its limits even more so than its original pilot. As requested, Captain Lori and Co-Captain Moira sent for Lieutenant Commander Joshua Shepard to meet the boy and take hold of the situation. When the Arcaneus Gundam engaged the PAWN Strike, moments later Ciel was caught up in a heated dialogue with the enemy Gundam's pilot, Sol. With the SEED blossoming within, Ciel was able to see through the enemy's façade and exposed the Earth Alliance Pilot as a Newtype. The battle reached its climax as the mysterious BIOsensor system activated in the PAWN Strike Gundam. The fight came to a swift end in which Ciel left the enemy alive for purposes purely cryptic. _

_The enemy then used a new weapon to put an end to the skirmish. The special forces of the Earth Alliance mobilized their newest mobile suits called GM's, programmed with and experimental pilot unassisted A.I to deal with the Coordinator and Newtype menace within the colony. _

_The Arcaneus, although critically damaged, took over the battle against the GM foes after a bitter betrayal; this act allowed the PAWN Strike to assist the Bequest in its time of need. Before the Core Gundam could be launched to act as an equalizer in the battle, a terrible revelation stopped the operation before its start. The enemy had infiltrated the colony with a nerve agent and used it against the remaining population. Before Ciel could react blindly to his desperation, Lt. Cm. Shepard used necessary force to detain the civilian at the controls of the Gundam. _

_Unable to turn the tide within the PLANT the Bequest launched in hopes of protecting the remaining civilian evacuation shuttles headed for L1. The unconscious Ciel is hospitalized and detained by the ships crew while the sister ships of the Bequest, the Stanton and the Niaves, come to assist in the escape operation._

_Although the crew of the Bequest believes that their cries have gone unheard it would appear that the angels of yesterday have gotten wind of their prayers…_

_End Log_

**Intro Song: Rebirthed by Skillet**

---Orb, Residential Coast---

The brackish aroma of the sea and its deep indigo color mesmerized Kira Yamato as its waves massaged his feet. The lullaby of the Seagulls above only helped to send his mind elsewhere, beyond the place in which he stood. As the tide pulled the pebbles of sand from his toes he stretched his arms up and cracked his back as he let the wind carry his hair back. His facial hair had perfectly outlined the frame of his face while his dark brown hair remained in its classic style only trimmed the night before. His body was strong and sturdy with a decent muscle mass that helped him fill out. By Natural years he was in his fifties, but in genetic terms he maintained the body of someone just entering their thirties; just one of the pro's of being a Coordinator.

His stretch ended with a sigh as he watched the sunset paint the sky cherry, violet, and ginger; Orb as it seemed, always had the best sunrises and sunsets.

"Thirty five years, it seems so far away," Kira said under his breath as he ran his fingers through his hair. Even though so much time had passed he had kept up to speed with the times. His promise to "replant" the world with peace, should it ever need it, still stood as a memorial to both what he stood for and for those he would stand to protect.

Time had been by his side as he viewed life as a slideshow of various clips and experiences that had accumulated over a span of his age. The rise of the Newtype and the genocides that followed, the development of GAEAH, and the formation of various earth and space super states were just a few standing mark points in history. Kira had remained silent and gone under paying homage to a time where more uncertainty meant more fear; where there is fear there is surely hate.

"Kira!" a familiar youthful voice called out. Kira turned halfway and then smiled as he saw an old friend call to him from the highway just beyond. He snickered to himself to see that he had chosen to drive an actual car rather than ride a motorcycle for once; which was typical for his style of transportation. His black hair maintained its length while his face remained baby faced as always. He was much taller now and of course the youngest of the three pilot heroes of the Valentine war era.

"Shinn, tell me how you are!" Kira waved as he jogged towards the stone steps that would lead him to the highway. He stopped only momentarily to catch Shinn's words as he approached.

"I've gotten a message from Athrun! We've got trouble!" He frowned as the words left his lips.

Kira felt cold as his mind flashed back so many years back. Every piece of every skirmish quickly came to an end as he prepared to welcome an unforgivable transition into another conflict; he prayed a silent prayer that it wasn't so.

---

"So what's the word?" Kira asked as he crossed his arms bracing himself for the news.

"I actually don't know the message myself. I got it via Terminal just an hour ago," Shinn spoke as he drove. His driving was intense but with experience his carelessness had given way to expert handling.

"Was the message encrypted?"

"Yes as usual. Something is happening in the PLANT's as we speak. Athrun was very specific in terms of what was going on, but I'm not so sure myself,"

"Do you know where he got the information from, or was this coming directly from him?

"It didn't say, but I know that Athrun has been working his ass off. Even though he got the reports I'm not positive whether or not he actually knows himself," Shinn sighed in reverence. Out of the three, Athrun remained in active duty with the Three-Ship Alliance. They remained low and out of sight while working in conjunction with underground Orb support to keep their cause alive.

"Lets head back to my place and from there we'll figure out what Athrun has to say," then the realization hit him full force though it had never left his mind prior "Are Lacus and Kyo safe?"

"They're doing just fine. They aren't in any danger from what I've gathered. I hear that she's coming out with a new album next week; it maybe the best she's ever done or so I've heard," Shinn said allowing him a smile.

"I'm glad to hear it. But if things get way too out of hand I'm sure it wont be long until she'll be pulled into whatever is going on," Kira said nervously. If there was one thing that he could defiantly count on, it would be that, like any conflict before hand, everyone would be pulled in once again into the riptide.

---

As a fair well gift left behind by the late Reverend Malchio, the cabin had become a dwelling for the hosts of the Clyne faction. Initially intended to be the family home of the Yamato's it had eventually become lonely without Lacus. Shinn and Lunamaria would occasionally come to pay visit but other than that the remainder of the group remained in space. It had been a lonely place of solitude since Lacus had been called back to the PLANT's. Kira had understood his wife's departure for the best but not a day went by where he wished he would roll over and see her smiling face when he awoke. All he had for the time being was a CD player with a few of her favorite songs, pictures, and the occasional routine communication over the phone. He missed her, but most of all, he missed his son Kyo.

"While you're fixing the connection would you like anything to drink?" Kira offered politely.

"Water's fine by me, thank you," Shinn smiled as he typed in the communication access code. Great care had to be taken to make sure that the transmission was hidden or otherwise encoded to ensure ultimate security. Shinn had become accustomed to such work seeing as Lunamaria's sister, Meyrin, was an accomplished Coordinator with great technological know-how.

"Okay, we're connected to the remote section. It will most likely be an audio only transmission unless they feel comfortable enough to broadcast," Shinn said taking the glass of cold water from Kira's cupped hands. Kira inspected carefully as he leaned, relaxed against the kitchen counter top next to Shinn.

"This is Terminal channel 0041, please give access regonition. The connection will terminate in thirty seconds," A computerized voice commanded over the laptop speakers.

"The red-winged angel desires an audience with the lawmaker," Shinn droned over the head piece.

For a moment there was silence and no response until a vid window appeared. It was Athrun in his uniformed entirety standing before them. The connection was grainy and delayed due to the distance between them, but none-the-less they were successful. Athrun's dark hair retained its usual parting split while his eyes shown sharper still with the likeness of a veteran.

"Its about time Shinn, I sent you the message over an hour and a half ago," Athrun signed for the sake of diligence.

"I'm sorry, I figured I would have Kira hear what you have to say as well," Shinn said angling the camera at Kira. Kira gave a small wave and stepped closer.

"Hello old friend, it's been a while," Kira smiled as Athrun returned a grin of content.

"It's been a month or two hasn't it? Things have been keeping me quite busy up here so I apologise for the lack of communication," Athrun admitted.

"Don't apologise, you're just doing what you do best," Kira grinned.

"Preventing disaster and negotiating in silence? Not exactly my best but I can deal with it," Athrun teased raising an eyebrow.

"You know what I mean," Kira said before changing the subject, "So, whats been going on?"

"Here's what we have so far: three hours ago we had various reports of inconsistencies within the communication network concerning on of the PLANT's farthest from the moon – Leigas. We caught wind of a distress signal coming from the colony but before the cause could be determined the signal was lost completely. Attempts to reach the colony have been unsuccessful," Athrun reported.

"Couldn't it be a solar disturbance or some kind of other natural interferrance?" Shinn suggested desperatly trying to sway the sisuation to a lesser seriousness.

"That's what we had thought, until-" Both Kira and Shinn's insides became hollow and as empty as a husk at those words. Any hopes of brushing the disturbance off through natural causes shattered in a single moment. "- until our Newtype department began picking up on a mass emergance coming from the PLANT itself. Various psionic capable technicians were able to pick out some of the various quantum communications flowing out of that area," Athrun continued gravely.

"You're talking about outgoing telepathy between Newtypes right?" Shinn asked wanting to clear up that confusion.

"You're correct Shinn. From what we've gathered from most of the mental links is that the colony has come under an attack of some sort; the aggressor has been identified as the Atlantic Federation!" Athrun said with words turning bitter.

"No way, why attack the PLANT?!" Shinn gasped out of disbelief. Kira's expression turned painfully sour as he clenched his fists on the countertop.

"It's a fact, Shinn - as to why it's happened we don't know for sure. The quantum source and reception was the thing that really got to us the most. In order for that kind of communication to travel across that distance and in such a short amount of time would require a great exodus of life force," Athrun shrugged. "The NBRR identifies that in order for something like this to happen it would require a great number of people to have lost their lives,"

"Like a message beyond the grave…" Kira said wincing at the fact. Shinn slammed a fist down hard on the counter letting his anger get the best of him. The peace had been shaky after the second Bloody Valentine War, but to have something happen on this scale once more only made his blood boil.

"What can we do?" Shinn asked gritting his teeth.

"For now I need you to wait. Right now the Eternal is on combat standby but we haven't mobilized just yet. If there has been a large scale attack then the most likely location for any evacuation route would be towards L1. Meyrin is attempting to get into contact with Lacus as we speak. We sent her the same encrypted message as Shinn but she's been informed to a greater extent. We maybe able to contain this incident if we're able to act quickly to prevent any further loss of life," Athrun informed remembering the gravity of the past. From over the communication window another familiar voice spoke which got Athrun's attention.

"We've got an open window Athrun, Lacus is ready to broadcast," Meyrin said perking up. She was just off screen so the others weren't able to see her at her station.

"Okay, patch her through," Athrun requested.

Kira persed his lips in anticipation waiting to see his wife in what seemed like forever. The wait was aggrivating and a pain more or less; his desire to see her face was beyond grueling. Kira got his wish. Her hot pink hair was styled in a braid while her golden hair pin acted as her crown. Her eyes were just as blue as he had remembered, maybe moreso than ever; it could have been the fact that he hadn't seen her in quite some time.

"Kira!" Lacus hummed as her eyes dimmed like candlelight carressed by a faint breath of wind. Kira's heart was contented.

"I miss you," Kira's first words summed up everything he needed to say. In the light of the present sisuation his feelings for his family had to yield to another pressing matter at hand.

"We'll talk later seeing as things have quickly become tangled. Athrun, good to see you: I received your report and I can't help but be shocked. Do we have anything substantial to work with, or are we still in the dark?" Lacus calculated.

"This is all we have recovered thus far. It appears that we're acting off an invisible nudge aimed at our consciousness – not a very promising impulse, especially after you consider the political atmosphere that we're in," Athrun commented.

"I'm afraid that I cannot make this kind of decision: not because the sisuation does not merit such action, but because I believe that I'm being watched.

"What do you mean?" Kira perked up. If Lacus or his son were in danger Kira would have no qualms about taking up arms and without hesitation; he had learned this lesson in the second Bloody Valentine War. It is better to act at the signs rather than let the storm worsen.

"You know that I've been called back to the PLANT's to restore a sense of comfort to the people – to be their voice in times that are dire and gloomy. While I am not a governemt official within the Plant Supreme Council I am still considered an individual with high regard. It is no surprise that those in the Plant's know that I am the leader of the Three Ship Alliance and that I still carry on my father's peaceful views. This presents the greatest problem. If there truly is something going on behind the scenes that could escalate, there is a good chance that many would seek to have my influence removed along with my authority as leader of the Clyne Faction." Lacus reasoned.

"Have no worries Mrs. Yamato, this line is secure and protected," Shinn input a level of maintained comfort.

"Thank you Shinn, I'm confident in that, but I still worry," Lacus said with her expression drooping into reluctance. "Seeing as things always tend to go from bad to worse I will be taking no chances. Kira, seeing as I am cornered I would like you to assume command until the sisuation can be assessed. If I truly am being targeted then it would be wise of me to send Kyo to you, to Orb,"

"You think that's a good idea? I have no objections seeing as even if the conflict moves to the earth he'll be safe in Orb," Kira smiled as he remembered Orb's soverienty.

"I believe it would be a good idea that he should experience the earth. The Plant's are incredible yes, but this experience maybe good for him. Kyo is restless anyways – always complaining of boredom and the day to day. I'll send you the information when the plans are finalized," Lacus smiled.

"Okay, just remember to call me or your other security contacts should you feel threatened at all," Kira inforced. The fact that he couldn't be at Lacus's side to protect her from harm antagonized him like an internal parasite. He may have wished for the best but he could never get rid of the itching feeling of anxiety and paranoia.

"So in my stead, Kira, I hand command over to you temporarily until the sisuation changes for the better. I must go now and prepare to comfort the people, but I must also apologize to you all. I have been so busy that it's been hard to get some time alone to just talk. I truly am sorry," Lacus apologized.

"Think nothing of it," Kira grinned as he wished again silently that he was with her right then and now. For the time being he would have to endure the silence a little longer.

"Thank you for your understanding; it's been quite difficult to adjust so I can't wait until I come to visit. I must go now, but I will remain within reach should anything else happen," Lacus informed gently.

"Leave it to us, we'll see what we can do for the time being," Shinn grinned as he watched Kira's eye's become glassy.

"Songstress – out," And with that Lacus had dissapeared entirely leaving only the men to converse for however long it would take.

"Well, what are your orders General?" Ahtrun smiled as he cracked a crisp salute on screen. Shinn turned again with energetic expectation.

"Mobilize immediately and intercept at L1. Though I dislike its use, proceed undetected with the Mirage Colloid. The enemy will most likely not hesitate to use this device; acting as the equalizer will help ensure stealth in the operation. Maintain constant info feed and switch connection lines every six minutes," Kira ordered.

---

_He had remembered the time where he and his friends sat outside the neighborhood province by a small artificial lake. Everyone was there despite it being a little colder than usual. Naomi wrapped herself up in a cocoon with the picnic blanket they had used before. Rock was goofing off with a pair of sparklers they had bought at a bazaar in the downtown district. The light of the August times dimmed down the surroundings gradually as the evening dragged on. _

_"Rock, I dare you to stick the sparklers up your nose," Torii laughed._

_Not so smart a request coming from her. Luckily he had no chance to complete the deal as he burned himself letting out a cuss or two. Laughter was quite abundant in the group as the light in the colony began to dim further. _

_Between all of them this was a common event that happened usually every Friday or Saturday. Because they lived in the PLANT's they had no sunrise or sunset to truly capture. The mirror arrays around the colony simulated a normal night and day using the light from the sun. There was nowhere else better to be than by the lake at nightfall, together. _

_"You never cease to entertain do you Rock?" Naomi said as she shivered under the blanket._

_"How can you possibly be cold Naomi? It no where near as cold as you really think it is; just get up and move," Rock suggested as he began lighting more sparklers._

_Ciel had been reading a novel the whole entire time as Rock had been goofing off. He was the youngest and by far more of an active type than to be sitting and reading something while fun was in the air. Torii had been especially uppity that evening so it was a little awkward to see her roll switched around._

_"Hey y-lyon, what are you reading? You've been awful quiet so it must be a good book," Torii said shifting to Ciel._

_"I bet he's reading erotica!" Rock cracked up as he flung himself about around the area with more sparklers in his hands._

_"No you tard, I'm reading 'An Ode to Remember'," Ciel growled as the interruption made him lose his train of thought._

_"You're reading that one again?! Good grief, get yourself some new material or something!" Torii laughed and complained in unison. She got up and walked over and sat next to Ciel under the old grant tree. Ciel laid on his stomach completely oblivious to her comments. Rock finally got fed up with the sparklers tossing them to the ground. _

_Ciel had been so intent on his reading that he had no time to see Rock come up from behind and snatch the book straight from his hands. Rock danced in his raggedly cut jeans while attempting to read the dialogue._

_"And as…I remained – past the once concrete realization I had lost…" Rock giggled as he enticed Ciel to come over and take the book from him by force._

_"Hey, you're reading everything out of order on purpose you lysdexic word cramming stoner! Give me back my book! I was almost finished with the last few pages anyways!" Ciel smiled hiding his aggravation._

_"Catch me!" Rock said antagonizing Ciel. Naomi laughed heartily to see Rock shake his bottom in Ciel's face and then take off before he could be caught. The chase was on in as little words as possible._

_"Rock, you're such a pain, let him finish his book!" Torii said trying to keep herself serious as she watched the two boys run circles around each other. Rock had brute strength and speed and could easily leave Ciel behind in the dust; however, Ciel was the more cunning alternative to physicality. He wouldn't realize it himself but to others watching his motion was affected by his inward will to succeed. The two dodged each other and dove in different directions opposite to the other. Rock, sadly was beginning to run out of tricks as Ciel's mind had finished warming up. Now each move was becoming predictable and futile to execute. Finally Rock let Ciel come into close quarters to attain the book, only to hold it high over his head._

_"If you want the book you're going to have to jump for it," Rock laughed as Ciel wrestled with him. The wrestling stopped as Ciel stepped back looking quite mixed with entertainment and irritation. Ciel looked at the book and concentrated on its mass. With a single flick of a finger the book popped out of Rock's hands and hovered a few feet out of reach. Rock stopped and looked up contently to see his best friend's powers at work. _

_"Cheater, no powers!" Rock said patting Ciel on the back._

_"I'm a cheater? That's awfully harsh especially when I have to deal with a friggin "Goliath" stealing my book," Ciel smirked as the book released itself from suspension and fell into his hands. _

_"Whatever dude. I bet you could send me into lunar orbit if you really tried," Rock said stretching for the sky as Ciel drew closer._

_"Sorry, I'm not that gifted," Ciel admitted disappointedly._

_"I'd be happy to have what you have," Naomi said waving Ciel to have him sit by her. _

_"Envy is the sickness, hatred is the symptom, war is the outbreak – A quote from the book actually," Ciel spoke with borrowed wisdom._

_"Sounds deep Ciel, though I'm not surprised considering that's you in a nutshell," Torii said crossing her legs under her gown. The old English skirt was something of an elegant statement that people ever really saw now a days. She brought her interests of Earth's culture and displayed it for everyone to see in her own way: dark yet refined, complicated but simple; a rock n' roll t-shirt and square reading glasses only added to her expression._

_"It's from a Newtype author. He recently moved to the PLANT's to escape the persecution that's taking place in the North American continent," Ciel said with a noticeable sigh._

_"Don't get down on me now. Just think that in a few years Newtype's will be perfectly normal. It's gotten a little better for Coordinators, and I'm sure not too distantly in the future they'll be the majority," Torii explained._

_"Those are good thoughts to bear, but what of those who live in the now?" Naomi said acknowledging her "race"._

_"Well with GAEAH around we won't have to worry about that for long, right?" Rock second guessed himself._

_"Not likely," Ciel interjected, "GAEAH is still run by the majority of the earth populace. The European super states along with Orb are the only nations who really see Newtypes as people. The asylum accords for fleeing peoples from across the globe are truthfully exhausted. It's nearly impossible to host every Newtype on the planet in a single nation no matter how large. The Plants are the most heavily populated with the Newtype culture unlike the super state on Earth. Though if I'm correct, I'm positive that there would be those to warp their agenda's around GAEAH; it would be far too easy," Ciel sighed. _

_"So you think there will be a war or something?" Rock said enthusiastically. He was rewarded with a negative glare coming from Torii which made him cringe a little. Naomi was gentle and delicate when it came to that tender subject. While Torii had known the most about her she did manage to share with Ciel the terror's of her escape from the various genocides on the planet. Such painful subjects were still in the process of healing. _

_"NO," Torii refuted Rock's suggestion, "We're a civilized people and a solution will be found through diplomacy; talks are already underway through GAEAH and the supreme council of the PLANT's." Torii had always been against war and other means of brutality. She had conditioned herself to be a hardcore pacifist and she did all she could to resolve conflicts with dignity and a sense of honor._

_"Free immigration has made all the difference in the melding of our cultures," Ciel added._

_"Indeed it has. The free immigration pact has really made a startling impact. Even general populations from Earth can freely visit and vise versa," Torii commented. _

_"So no war?" Naomi squeaked._

_"Yup, no war what-so-ever," Ciel grinned._

_"Yeah, I'm a perfect example of the immigration movement! I'm a Natural!" Rock smiled as he tugged the skin on his face as if it would have made his position clearer. _

_"We can see that," Ciel smiled._

_Rock grinned a wild smile as he waddled over to the tree where everyone had seated themselves. Usually the groups meetings composed themselves of random activity and casual talks; the occasional deep conversation would surface every once in a while and such an occasion was present that day._

_"Do you think we'll ever be accepted?" Naomi said with tone declining. Everyone's faces puckered and frowned at the notion coming from the gentle heart seated before them. Ciel closed his novel and sat closer to his friend who had been through so much in her early life. He sat next to her and looked upon the artificial horizon and spoke with inward voice rising._

"_Beyond my understanding, when the hands of time began turning, there was a cycle – a never ending repetition that branded the human race with a stigma. That stigma is our marking of imperfection; it is the curse of the cycle to which we are bound forever and ever." Ciel was famous for depth of understanding and his use of poetic language to reach others. His words were soothing and tender to the ear; in many cases this got peoples attention without request. _

"_We trip on ourselves from day to day with no regard continuing the cycle as a new piece comes to join us. We are slaves to ourselves and are in bondage. As fear enters and reason to listen departs, we make a contract with death itself." Naomi and Torii were accustomed to Ciel's meaningful speech; Rock occasionally needed a translation if the words couldn't reach him. This was one rare case where Rock was totally enthralled and focused on what Ciel had to say. As he listened he shimmied on his knee's to get closer as Torii shifted to make a spot for him under the tree. Naomi was mystified._

"_You know a quite a bit more than me Ciel, but is there anyway we can be free?" Naomi said cocking her head._

"_There are those who's hearts are open and full of love. They can see the world as it is; although it is imperfect, they find the beauty beyond its lies." Ciel turned to Naomi with eyes shimmering with an opalescent gleam in his irises. "Though they are few, they are indeed free,"_

_In this memory which he was experiencing he would comfort her with the scruffling of her hair. He reached up with his right had but found that it could not move. He shook his hand and heard the sound of clicking metal._

"Naomi?" Ciel blurted out as his eyes opened. He tried as hard as he could to move his right hand up to touch her image but he could do no such thing. He had realized that he had been dreaming as he awoke to find himself blinded by very bright medical lights. Once his eyes adjusted he saw that he had been cuffed to a bed and stripped of all his belongings. An IV stuck out of his left arm and later he noticed that he had an identification band on his left wrist.

"What the, where the hell did I end up now?!" Ciel shouted in aggravation. He lifted his left hand to inspect the identity band placed on his wrist. Once the woozy vision drifted away he could read perfectly.

**Patient Name: Unknown**

**Ethnicity: Newtype **

**NT Type: Unknown**

**Personal ID: Civilian**

**Age: Unknown**

"Wonderful, abso-fuckin-lutely wonderful, what have I gotten myself into?" Ciel growled. He knew that it was typical of Newtypes to have extremely lucid experiences while sleeping; which were okay, but not when you wake up wishing the experience was real. He slammed his head back on the pillow angry with himself in his carelessness.

"Hello, is anybody there? I seriously need to pee!" Ciel shouted in his usual obnoxious ornery way.

A sliding airlock door opened which startled Ciel to the point where he shot straight up. He looked warily at a grown man in a white medic scrub with a small ZAFT insignia on his shoulder; an I.D tag showing his position and specific line of work stood out on his attire. He looked to be in his forties with a short hair cut that brought out his hazel eyes. The crewmember was an average build and a little shorter by Ciel's standards.

"You're awake I see. I didn't think you'd regain consciousness until after we arrived at L1; you took quite a hit to your noggin," The man gave a little smirk as he entered with a medical case in his hands.

Ciel brushed his hair with his available hand and felt the lump on the back of his head and winced at its sensitive reaction to touch.  
"Where am I exactly?" Ciel said itching at the bandage wrapped around his forehead.

"Medical center of the Bequest, do you remember now?"

"Who are you?" Ciel asked politely.

"My name is Allan Keiyse; I'm an assistant nurse with the medical department. The more important question is what is your name is?" Allan wondered.

"A nurse?" Ciel questioned.

"Hey, since when can't a man be a nurse huh?" Allan said teasing (even though to some extent he was a little offended).

"Better question: what's been going on?" Ciel said pushing the question which seemingly lit a fire under his temper.

"Tell you the truth kid; I'm about as clueless as you. What we do know is that when escaping Leigas there was a bio-chemical attack aimed at the population. But you will find out soon enough," Allan hinted.

"What do you mean I'll "find out" soon enough?" Ciel said growing more nervous by the second, "And my name is Ciel Godsend,"

Allan turned to him while preparing a syringe giving him a quizzical look.

"Quite a name you have there, you don't happen to be lying would you?"

"No," Ciel said eyeing the needle, "My caregivers gave me that name at the children's home I live at – used to live at," Ciel said correcting himself.

"Ah, I understand," Allan said as he noticed Ciel's hesitation at the sight of the needle, "And don't worry, this will help you relax; zero gravity can be a bit of a shock to your system if you haven't experienced it before,"

"So why exactly am I cuffed to the bed?" Ciel asked as he yanked his right hand.

"Regular security procedure, don't be offended," Allan smiled.

"I see, so you think I'm dangerous?" Ciel asked as Allan injected the drug into the IV.

"Like I said, it's a precaution. Security will be here any minute to escort you to the captain's quarters for interrogation," Allan informed nonchalantly. This statement raised hell almost immediately after it was said.

"Interrogated, you mean you guys think I'm the enemy?! I'm a civilian, not some kind of rogue cell operative!" Ciel said trying to testify for himself amidst his panic.

"Just relax, the captain just wants to talk to you and get your story straight. You did an excellent job protecting what you could when you did in my opinion; I wouldn't be surprised if they award you the Medal of Freedom," Allan said gently grabbing Ciel's shoulders. He had bee totally honest and sincere concerning everything that he had said, and wished that somehow his words could justify a sense of comfort. The boy had been through quite a lot and although he wasn't a psychologist he knew that there was some margin for instability.

The airlock doors to the medic room opened revealing two armed guards with M24's and standard issue bulletproof vests. Their belts were decorated with an assortment of all sorts of neat toys that made Ciel feel uneasy. Chemical spray, tazer gun, and the handy-dandy nightstick were just a few objects to name. They came in and made eye contact immediately with Ciel; their presence alone was enough to make the boys stomach twist with anxiety. One solider unstrapped Ciel from his bed and removed his handcuffs while the other approached with a black cloth in his hands. As soon as Ciel was free of his bed restraints he felt weightless and light headed.

"Put this blindfold on. Because your status is still unconfirmed we cannot allow you to see the ships interior," The observing security guard said handing him the black cloth. Ciel did little to resist the order and tied the band around tightly to ensure total blindness. Just as he finished the knot his hands were gathered behind him forcefully and he was cuffed once more.

---Captains Quarters---

He at least had a seat that was comfortably padded rather than what was expected. Ciel saw movies and played games where the good guy was always beaten ruthlessly, put into circumstances similar to his own, and then placed in an uncomfortable chair for a rigorous brainwash. The youth was mature no doubt but his imagination would tend to trip him up at times. Though the itching desire to adjust the blindfold became an irritant he dared not raise a single hand out of his lap; he was still a Newtype and in figuring such logic he could guess that a few guns were pointed his way. The rigid texture from the guard's bodies emanated outwards from each corner of the room, so it didn't take a genius to feel he was unwelcome. The trip through a maze of corridors and elevators had certainly confused him, but he found it funny that security went through all the trouble to disorient someone who didn't even know where they were to begin with. There was the sound of sifting clothing against another padded chair just beyond what he sensed to be a table.

"We're going to start off with simple questions regarding personal identification. After each question is completed we will ask you to testify your experience according to the law. What is your name, date of birth, age, sex, race, civil ID, and occupation?" A deep feminine voice said calmly just across from him. For a minute Ciel had nearly mistaken the voice to be a man.

"My name is Ciel Godsend; I was born in C.E 86 August twenty third. I'm 18, male, and a Newtype. My civil ID is 637-19-0888 and I work at Leigas as a volunteer for mechanical delivery," Ciel complied.

"We'll run the information and check your identification to see that it matches. Now I need you to tell me everything about what happened, from beginning to end," The Captain spoke coarsely.

"Okay, that's fine," Ciel whimpered uneasily.

"But first I must know one thing," The woman said holding back her speech.

"Yes and what is that?"

"How are you feeling?" The woman's streamline seriousness became casual and free flowing.

"Um, I'm feeling a little dizzy, but other than that I'm not so sure," Ciel admitted.

"That will wear off in a few minutes, I promise. You can remove your blindfold now,"

Ciel lifted his hands from the chairs arms and attended to the black cloth tied around his head. He felt the chair slip out from underneath him as he fiddled with the knot in zero gravity, which made him jumpstart into a small panicked flail that lasted only a moment. He took the cloth from his face and opened his watery eyes. Across from him over the desk table where he sat, was a white uniformed woman with round-framed glasses. Ciel had read enough to know that her rank was that of a Captain so he did his best to behave in front of such a high-ranking official.

"Well, if you want to know the story, then here you go," Ciel said returning to the chair while locking eyes with the Captain.

---

The Captain removed her hat revealing her lack of hair and leaned back in her chair looking up in an exhausted fashion. She wished with all her might that today would have never happened, but the headache scrambling her brain was the mark of a painful reality. Shaking her head did her no good when she heard Ciel speak his story; what had happened was out of her control, and most certainly out of his. The child had bared no threat to them; in fact he did more to help them in their situation. So much was happening in the heat of the moment that one couldn't think clearly without all the second opinions bombarding the mind from all directions; though they weren't voiced yet she knew Moira would be the first to speak up. It was Captain Lori's turn to chat. All through Ciel's explanation she made notes to herself on what she should comment on.

"My friend, you've just been to hell and back – no questioning. The pilot of the Zaku III, the solider that saved you, was one of ours. He belonged to the Stanton's crew and was apart of the joint Marine Corps unit. He was first Lieutenant Adrian Larken, also known as Bayt pronounced like "bait" to his fellow comrades. One of our mobile suit pilots on the Bequest knows him; I'm sure the news will be hard for her to hear," Lori said rubbing her temples. Ciel would have uttered a hum of disappointment but chose silence instead of appearing overly sensitive.

"The enemy mobile suits were able to surgically strike the radar towers and later lay down a blanket of interference on the outside of the colony. Like most cases they entered through the ports and made their way to the docks. At first we mobilized because of our loss of communication and continued to proceed with our normal schedule. The Naives was the first to find out that we were under attack so they launched their mobile suits first. The Stanton had been outside the PLANT and engaged two other enemy ships. Their mission was to prevent any further enemies from gaining access to the living environment while the Naives provided similar support. This surprise attack left us without a voice and an ear to listen," The Captain explained.

Then the question finally struck Ciel like a hammer to a nail.

"The PLANT, what happened to it? What about the weapon of mass destruction?" Ciel said growing a little more comfortable with the Captain. Lori shook her head and avoided eye contact. The truth was unbearably sickening to even think about. The ramifications to this attack would certainly echo and continue onward as a deafening warning that worse things were bound to happen.

"As soon as the Stanton's forces had been exhausted, the enemy managed to cut through their defenses and penetrated the colonies outer wall using a beam weapon; it was a deceptive move on their part to gain access to the inside. Apparently just as we had gotten that transmission, the other side of "hourglass" had been contaminated thoroughly. We thought that by retreating from the PLANT the enemy would surely follow, but unfortunately it would have made no difference," Lori said hem-hawing the truth.

"Not true, there could have been another way!" Ciel clearly objected.

"Your resolve is strong but your understanding of the situation is lacking; that however is permissible considering the circumstances," Lori calculated.

"So did you already defeat the enemy?" Ciel said rubbing the bump on the back of his skull. "How long was I out?"

"You were unconscious for good four or five hours. Just as we took off, the enemy used a mirage colloid camouflage; we could still track their basic movements but their attacks ceased entirely, even their mobile suits had been called back to regroup. We've been escorting the evac shuttles to L1 along with the help of the Stanton and Naives. A constant mass detection sweep of our radar range has maintained itself for the past four hours, and still no sign of the enemy. Even though we can't detect them we still have good reason to believe they're not too far behind," the Captain growled.

Ciel had tuned out the remaining half of the conversation and felt ready to cry. His abilities got the best of him as his emotions began to leak through his self-control.

"What the hell were they after?" Ciel forcefully chocked out the words in an attempt to keep him from blurting out anything worse. The Captain sat forward and crossed her arms and legs readying to explain.

"Because of the recent boom in Newtype births, the earth feels threatened by their presence. Through rigorous study we've been able to synthesize new weapons technology that can harness a Newtype's raw potential. Most studies and tests are common throughout PLANT, but they came to fruition here at Leigas. With that aside, new mobile weapons, such as the one you piloted, are apart of our new millennium stage development series. Opposition from the Federation – coming from GAEAH no less – has been voiced over and over again; even though we've stayed within the boundaries in compliance with many treaties over the years. This act of violence was blatant and absurd and it would not surprise me to know that this plan of action was authorized. There have been several incidents like this one happening – but not to this extreme – and its beginning to tear at the seams of this peace."

"If you've obeyed the rules then it should be none of their business what we make or what they make. If they just wanted to collect information through espionage they could have taken that route. Why attack on a scale like this? The whole thing was totally pointless!" Ciel argued.

"That is true, but taking what you have said into account could mean that what they found threatened them. With all this opposition to the PLANT's someone was bound to get tired of talking and be willing to act independently," The Captain added.

Ciel stopped for a second and really looked hard at this situation. He was just a lowly civilian with no higher authority or purpose but to be who he was in society. The Captain had gone into so much detail with him on many a subject which finally led him to ask the real question that had been bothering him.

"Okay, I have to ask, why are you talking to me about so much sensitive information, especially military secrets? Shouldn't you have sent me away after giving my testimony and then compare it to everyone else involved? Why am I still here?" Ciel suspected a catch.

The Captain gave a rueful smile which the Newtype boy liked even less.

"You said that you met a worker from the NBRR and that her name was Melody Swanson, correct? If that is so, which it is, then this truly is a strange twist of fate,"

"Yes, I did meet her but only briefly. What is the strange twist of fate?" Ciel said upping his defenses.

"She was supposed to meet Co-captain Moira and be escorted to the Bequest. Miss Swanson was given the task of monitoring and evaluating all combat personnel to see if they had any Newtype potential. The crew's majority consists of Coordinators with a few Newtypes aboard. She must have gotten lost at the terminals during the commotion resulting from the attack; she did not meet at the specified area discussed previously with her department chair. You said that she briefly "read you" and hinted at your potential am I correct?" The Captain inquired.

"Um, yes, but I didn't know what she meant. Miss Swanson did not give any specifics before we entered the terminal station," Ciel said remembering the woman's mystical speech. "There's just one problem though,"

"And what is that?" The Captain asked.

"Miss Swanson kept on referring to a "he" rather than a she, why is that?" Ciel said remembering the experience.

"Ah, a minor mix up on her part. The Co-captain of this ship is named Jonan Moira; her first name is a little masculine so I'm not surprised that there was a misunderstanding. Captain Moira and Miss Swanson never met face to face so that can help clear up your confusion," Lori reasoned.

"That still doesn't answer my initial question," Ciel said becoming stern. The Captain leaned forward a little closer as if she were telling a secret to the boy.

"Should you choose the option, if we asked you to help us, would you?" The words of the Captain would have sent Ciel falling out of the chair in exasperation had there been gravity.

"What?!" Ciel shot up out of his seat. The guards in each corner of the room lifted their rifles ready to fire which cleaned Ciel's expression of alarm off his face. The Captain quickly motioned that they cease action which resulted a quick stand down.

"Don't be alarmed, like I said it's totally up to you," The Captain offered.

"Isn't it illegal to mobilize civilians in military affairs?" Ciel said rebounding off the ceiling back to the chair.

"This is an emergency and a very pressing one at that. We do not know how many ships are pursuing us or how much fighting potential the enemy has to offer. Miss Swanson would have been able to see if anyone on this ship could possibly operate the Newtype weapons we have aboard. It is likely that you are by far the only Newtype aboard this ship with enough ability to pilot our new machines properly. The required levels for activating certain components in the weapons, maintains that nothing less of an NT3 can operate them correctly," The Captain informed.

"That can't possibly be true. What about the pilot that hit me over the head; can't he pilot the machine seeing as it's his?" Ciel said attempting to turn things around. He didn't know whether or not he should be pissing himself from the excitement or from the fear. The terror of the battle field kept him away from the offer, but then he remembered what he had done in the PLANT.

"Lt. Cm. Shepard is a Coordinator; although he has an elevated spatial awareness he does not possess total Newtype potential. Coordinators are known to have a small Newtype value to their abilities but they aren't Newtypes. The greatest "NT" level recorded in any known Coordinator is a 2," The Captain said shooting down Ciel's proposal. "And besides, Shepard doesn't own that suit. We assigned him to that machine but that doesn't necessarily make it his,"

"What can I possibly do that a hardcore solider cannot do?" Ciel said folding his arms ready for an explanation.

"For starters, you're perfectly able to initiate the BIOsensor system; and if my memory serves me correctly, you've activated the process – twice – in a single battle," The Captain crossed her legs to give off an air of sophistication; she really did have a point when concerning Ciel's abilities.

"BIOsensor, I saw that too when I was fighting. What is the BIOsensor exactly?" Ciel asked curiously pursing his lips.

"If you choose to pilot I'll explain it thoroughly; for now all I can say is that it is a system component in the Gundam that can only be activated by NT potential," The Captain offered this explanation unintentionally as a lure. She had no harmful intention, but seeing things as they were, at the moment the crew could certainly use the boys help.

"In any case, why isn't this Shepard guy able to do it?" Ciel said going in circles with the conversation.

"Mr. Godsend let me be utterly blunt with you: You are special, shut up. You could be a huge help to us should the enemy confront us again. If our aggressors do catch up with us there will certainly be a great deal of loss. I suppose we could do things without your help and continue onward, but the fact is that you could most defiantly save a lot of people from a lot of grief. If we happen to engage we may not make it; strength alone cannot win a battle," The Captain said reverting back to her tough-as-nails tone. Her might was intimidating and at the same time very uplifting.

Ciel thought hard for an extended interval of silence but then came back to himself remembering the faces of all his friends. The grave possibility that they could have been shot down before hand was possible, but what if they were still alive and being transported to L1?

"What about the civilians? Did everyone make it?" Ciel asked in a desperate tone that demanded a concrete reply. The answer to his question would act as a catalyst to decide his course of action.

"A great number escaped the colony unharmed. I'm sure that not everyone made it safely as I could guess. Apart from that, should the enemy attack us and turn their sites on the civilians…well, I dislike the thought," The Captain said becoming very grim.

If he had lost his friends in the colony his sorrow would surly follow him through to the rest of his days. In simulating that feeling he thought of the vast numbers of people who had been lost and placed himself in the shoes of their families and loved ones. Wondering about the lives he could save and keep protected for the rest of the journey is what made all the difference to him. He had no military exploits and no negotiations to oppose; Ciel would do it for his family and for those families still alive.

"What can I do?" Ciel said sharply.

"Very well, your possessions will be returned to you and you will be made a temporary member of the crew," The Captain said motioning with her hand. One of the guards carrying a tray of all of Ciel's cloths and accessories made his way over to the table where both subjects sat. Thankfully his satchel bag and all its contents were still intact. "Get dressed and let's get going; we have a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time,"

---

Ciel expected that the ship would be massive but to his surprise he found it overwhelming his original expectations. The ship had multiple layers like any other ship in the military but the Bequest was defiantly cut from a different cloth. There were numerous areas of immediate operation that were separated from an entire area of the ship that were reserved completely for living accommodations. The bridge had been built to have three levels: one for regular atmospheric flight, the second for in battle situations in which the command deck could be lowered, and a third dealing with situations that might require the ship to engage in deep sea underwater warfare; none of these simple concepts were even the tip of the iceberg.

"So how would I classify this ship? Is it more of an assault transport, mass carrier, or a battle ship?" Ciel said marveling as he floated along side the Captain. Ciel was so entertained that the fear in him had seemingly gone away entirely.

"That's actually a good question to ask. To tell you the truth it's a combination of many concepts rolled into one. ZAFT has labeled this particular ship as an AP-WV (all purpose war vessel). This ships mobile suit capacity is able to house well over twenty new millennium series units, not including mobile weapons or experimental project encasings; a separate hangar has been made to accommodate those weapon categories. We're headed in that direction so I can show you what you have the choice to pilot," Captain Lori explained this all to Ciel as they entered an elevator that would take them both down to the mobile weapons hangar. Their conversation continued as they traveled deeper and deeper into the ships mainframe.

"So tell me more about this ship! This is totally beyond anything I've ever seen before so I'm bound to bug you until I get answers," Ciel chuckled.

"Well, I do suppose I owe you some information for helping; just be good and keep this all under wraps between you, me, and the crew. Do you understand?" Captain Lori said sternly. Ciel was caught off guard at the Captain's reply but he responded with an outstretched arm and an extended pinkie finger. The Captain gave a quirky look at the gesture but then gave an easy smile locking her own finger around his own.

"The main features of this ship are its Fragment Complex Variable Assembly Core (FCVAC), External Mass Connection Compatibility (EMCC), and the Test-bed," Captain Lori listed.

"What does the Fragment Complex thing do?" Ciel said bright eyed and intrigued.

"The FCVAC is the new revolutionary mobile suit deployment system installed on this ship. Think of it as a kind of runway or like the name suggests an assembly line. The launch system starts at the rear of the ship and travels all the way through its mainframe. The runway allows a mobile suit to go through the assembly for resupply, repair, rearmament, or recharge; the unit can be launched immediately back into the battle within a record amount of time. The system was intentionally meant to serve our main unit, the Core Gundam. The unit is entirely interchangeable and can be equipped for any combat situation, you name it. Unlike past units that combine externally from the ship, this unit is put together on the assembly line and rolled out. The sole purpose of the FCVAC and the Core Gundam relate to the Test-bed strategy. The systems work hand in hand with one another to test new weapons and gather combat data to produce future units; It all starts with this ship," The Captain proudly explained.

"So the FCVAC and the Core are meant for testing new experimental mobile frames, weapons, battle tactics, and the like? That's utterly brilliant! The ability to change weapons and equipment while simultaneously resupplying and repairing is phenomenal!" Ciel squealed with the excitement of a true mecha fan.

"That's precisely that my friend, and more," The Captain smiled. The elevator door opened at the end of the descent revealing to Ciel a powerful and awe striking sight.

"This is the mobile weapons hangar where we keep the heavier firepower; the "mobile armor" you looking at is part of the weapons system for the PAWN Strike. The Resistance Orbital Carrier, otherwise known as ROC," The Captain smiled as Ciel was drawn to the edge of the balcony with mouth sprung open in wonder.

"This is what I would be piloting, this thing?!" Ciel said resting his hands on the balcony's edge. The mobile armor like weapon was shaped characteristically like that of a giant bird. Its front had a beak like capsule structure with two red slitted eyes. Its wings were composed of various containers that were being loaded into their casings on the underside and topside of the wing/body structure. The tail end of the armor looked to complete the birdlike form as its thrusters had been constructed to look like tail feathers. Though Ciel could not see it from his position, the underbelly of the weapon had two great mechanical arms that acted as enormous feet armed with great birdlike talons. The entire weapon looked to Ciel like it was half the size of the ship but that was just trickery being played on his eyes.

"This is another part of the Test-bed strategy that works directly in unison with the Core Gundam. The PAWN Strike is able to dock and become part of the ROC, making the two weapons one. Aside from the regular armament of "mega" weapons the ROC is also able to carry parts from the assembly line for mid-battle changeability for the Core Gundam. Unlike the other units on this ship, these are the only Newtype weapons we have. The ROC is armed with special NT devices which are both defensive and offensive by nature. Its main purpose is to act as a stronghold defense and support unit when in battle," The Captain continued to blow Ciel's mind away with more baffling revelations.

"Astonishing, totally amazing," Ciel hummed as he floated above his perch. The amounts of information had completely boggled his mind from start to finish. "What is the operational time for the mobile weapon?"

"Unlimited operational time," the Captain uttered in a deep and proud voice. Ciel turned around and faced Captain Lori with a face of alarm and uncertainty.

"Anything with a nuclear engine is strictly prohibited on either side with the PLANT's and the EA. How can you explain this breach in the accords?" Ciel said defiantly with a stance unshakable.

"At ease Mr. Godsend, we've stayed in compliance with all treaties regarding nuclear capability. Mobile suits are prohibited from having nuclear power, not mobile weapons. The Atom Treaties have been amended over time and have allowed some leeway; the reasons for that can be traced to the EA's desire to build more advanced mobile armor technology. The past twenty years have been the greatest arms build up since the first Bloody Valentine War," The Captain explained regrettably.

"Now I understand. I suppose such a large weapon would require an unlimited supply of energy. I think I can safely assume that when the PAWN Strike is docked, its energy is restored," Ciel surmised.

"That and more, the ROC also has lifeline capabilities. There are up to six support cables that can be fired and controlled with the NT technology. The connectors can link up to a friendly MS for a total recharge or to maintain a constant supply of energy; I meant what I said about this weapon being a super defense support unit," The Captain smiled.

"I suppose it can't be helped," Ciel shrugged, "You have to be smart to outdo the enemy in his strength; it's just another fact of war that people need to understand,"

"The PAWN Strike is being brought from the hangars into the mobile weapons section and it will arrive shortly. The mobile suit that you saved was repaired and reconfigured," the Captain commented.

"Reconfigured, you mean it was upgraded or just plain finished?" Ciel questioned.

Before the Captain could respond the compartment bay doors opened as a mobile suit was guided into the room via rail track. It was the PAWN Strike totally renewed and vastly upgraded. The head sported a new radar array and an added CIWS (which totaled six on the suit). The chest and torso had been revamped with extra external armor which gave the suit a very impressive edge to its look. The forearms were fit with and extra weapon that Ciel could only guess was another NT weapon of some sort. The legs of the mobile suit had defiantly been changed to a point where Ciel found them odd yet fairly interesting. The feet had been given special "shoes" as the boy could describe which made the feet much larger and appear somewhat flatter. The calves of the leg were fitted with extra boosters for added mobility no less. The back pack unit of the suit was completely new with movable tail binders and added wings for maneuverability.

"That's the PAWN? You guys sure did a hell of a good job repairing it and then some," Ciel said smiling. He couldn't help but feel attached to the mobile suit as if it were his own. He delighted in the fact that he could pilot it properly but refrained from priding himself in something that was clearly not his.

The movable rail track ended at the doors opening unlocking the mobile suits feet from the mechanism. The Gundam stepped forward unflinching and powerful. Ciel had found it majestic before hand but now it was something of an indescribable intimidation that gave him shivers up and down his spine. The noises it made as it walked and maneuvered were sounds that made Ciel burst with vigor and determination. He really did begin to believe that maybe he really could do something to help after all.

Ciel witnessed the Gundam stop moving altogether as its cockpit opened. A mobile technician dressed in a green work suit stepped out and immediately eyed Ciel and the Captain who had been watching. His hair was very dark cobalt which matched his sapphire eyes perfectly. Young and probably in his young twenties he was quite built and sturdy for a man of his age. The man kicked off from the mobile suit and flew towards the Captain and the newcomer as another worker took over in moving the Gundam. Ciel put his left foot up on the balcony and reached boy hands out to catch the youth and bring him to his destination.

"Hi, need a hand?" Ciel assisted. The Newtype boy gently grabbed the man's hands and kicked off the balcony to stabilize their movement. The blue haired youth couldn't help but notice the boys dark attire fitted with small trinkets of metal. He found it both amusing and out of the ordinary. The boy's kindness had certainly thrown his first impressions out the window.

"Uh, hi, thanks," he spoke a little nervously. The Captain assisted him and steadied their progress.

"How are things coming along?" The Captain asked diligently.

"Good, very good, the PAWN Strike and Core units have been completed and the ROC is functioning properly. We've loaded most of the munitions already, all we need to do is wait for Commander Garland's weapon line up requests and we're set," the boy's voice resounded with a reassuring tone.

"Keiyse, this is the boy I spoke of earlier," The Commander said pulling Ciel forward. The young man gave a smile and readied a hand shake.

"I'm Valance Keiyse; Chief of Maintenance. It's good to meet you,"

"I'm Ciel Godsend; I'm a civilian of course," Ciel blushed a little. He had always been shy around strangers but he found that he was getting used to it. Valance smiled further at the other boy's kind demeanor.

"How many people have you told about me, Captain?" Ciel suddenly questioned.

"Only those who need to know; your presence will eventually get around to everyone so you wont need to worry," The Captain reassured him.

"You defiantly wear some interesting cloths," Valance said poking at the metal on the other boy's attire.

"Thanks, I think they're nifty," Ciel blushed again. Now that the two had been introduced the Captain began addressing certain issues with Valance.

"Because he is a Newtype we have to prep the BIOsensor system and calibrate the control function. We'll only be a minute, Ciel, just stay put for a while," The Captain said floating off with Valance down the walkway. Ciel was tempted to wander and explore but he respected the Captain and her hospitality so he remained still.

His mind began to wander as he spied the weapon containers being locked into the wings of the ROC. The empowerment he felt as he witnessed the unit's construction was uplifting of course, but he was suddenly left with many questions. His telepathy echoed in his soul as he searched for what his emotions were telling him.

_"With this, maybe I really can make a difference? This situation is beyond my comprehension, I should just stay out of it. Think of what help I could be contributing! It was just a fluke the last time I piloted the Gundam. My abilities allowed me to save my friends so I can save them again. I don't even know if they're even alive anymore. I MUST try!"_ Ciel's thoughts raced as he rested against the back wall of the balcony. He was so conflicted in his decisions that it was difficult to sort out his feelings. He noticed that he had never had this much trouble with organizing his thoughts and searching for answers. Everything changed when he had escaped the colony in the process of its ensuing destruction. His abilities had taken a colossal step forward, beyond anything he could have ever done before. There was no use in denying himself and hiding the truth anymore; it was more than apparent that the whole event had triggered the change. The transition into this new state of consciousness was complicated for Ciel to grasp.

"Have the PAWN Strike armed with the Ex-BR2 (experimental beam rifle), and program it for basic quantum interface; 23.4 hold to be exact," A familiar voice paused Ciel's deliberation. A man in a pilot suit floated upwards hoisting himself up on the balcony ready to jump over to the ROC. Before the pilot could pivot around and jump his eye's locked with Ciel's once the boy looked up at him. Jet black hair and platinum colored eyes came back to memory as Ciel floated serenely with eyes glistening; it was none other than Joshua Shepard. Shepard looked at Ciel with a bleak expression as his actions took yield to another course of action. The prominence in Ciel's eyes dissipated as he smiled unaware of Joshua's intentions.

"Oh, hey, its you again. I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry for the way I acted back at the colony. I was just really upset you know?" Ciel said waving. He found this to be an awkward situation so he smiled in a goofy manner that suggested his discomfort. This man had knocked him out after all, and finding that the pilot maybe reassigned to a different unit other than the PAWN made Ciel feel uncomfortable. Shepard's eyes lit up giving off a threatening signal to Ciel's telepathy; if that look couldn't warn him then most anything would slip unnoticed for sure.

"You, how did you escape?!" Shepard shouted with alarm. Ciel readied for fight or flight with hands and feet braced against the wall.

"Uh, the Captain asked to see me, and she asked if I could…" Shepard flipped over the balcony with lightening physical speed and launched himself full force at Ciel. The Newtype boy found it pointless to continue talking so he acted with reflexes of his own. Ciel dove to his right past the elevator door while Shepard braced his impact against the wall.

Ciel would have shouted for the Captain had he not been probing the Gundam pilots thoughts, trying desperately to convince him of his friendly status. Shepard wall kicked from his surface continuing towards the other boy in mid flight.

_"Please stop, I am your friend, I am not your enemy!"_ Ciel constantly reiterated with thought as well as with his own voice. Shepard ignored and continued his assault.

"Stay away from my thoughts!" Shepard snapped as he caught up with Ciel. The pilot grabbed his right wrist and twisted it violently while spinning the boys arm around to his back. Ciel found himself pinned against the wall with little mobility to serve him; the pain in his arm didn't help much either. Ciel tried over and over again to tell Shepard the truth but he wouldn't listen. The last straw was drawn when Shepard used unnecessary force by hitting Ciel's head injury. Ciel went physical by mule kicking with both feet into Shepard's gut. In that splinter of time the pilots grasp on the boys arm loosened enough for him to escape. With eyes on fire, Ciel in turn and countered with a spin kick which was caught by Shepard in a basic wrist guard. The pilot readied to strike a blow which would have easily ended the fight by demonstrating an example of Coordinator might. The punch had been thrown in such a pitch that it appeared to move in slow motion as Ciel focused his mental force. In a clash of mind over matter, Shepard's fist met an invisible titanic explosion of power that sent him and his assault spiraling into the balcony guard rails; the backlash that resulted for the pilot would last a week's time before the pain went away.

Just as Shepard was released from the telekinetic force a pair of arms came from behind and placed him in a headlock while Valance stood in as a shield for Ciel.

"What in the hell is going on?!" The Captain said floating towards the tussle.

"Knock it off Shepard!" Valance said helping Ciel establish a foot hold. The pair of arms that had contained Shepard ceased action as Shepard calmed simmered down. Another pilot in a normal suit appeared from behind bracing Shepard in fear that he would strike again. He was a bit older looking than Shepard and a little more intimidating to look at. The allied pilot had short blonde hair with green eyes, and looked to be in his mid twenties compared to Shepard.

"Get off me Frank!" Shepard said batting away his comrade in a tantrum. The blonde haired solider grabbed Shepard by the collar and shook him violently.

"Watch your temper, Joshua; I won't be lenient with you anymore than the Captain is," The older pilot snarled through gritted teeth. His grip was also negated by Shepard which only furthered to anger his comrade.

"The boy who we recovered has escaped!" Shepard said pointing a condemning finger at Ciel. The Captain closed her eyes and held her forehead, shaking it out of disbelief.

"Stand down Lt. Cm., the boy is not harmful to us," The Captain ordered.

"You okay, are you hurt at all?" Valance asked ignoring the argument.

"I'll be fine, don't worry," Ciel said rubbing his wrists while the opalescence dimmed from his eyes. Shepard and Ciel had an intense stare down which hinted at a hidden conversation.

_"I tried to tell you but you wouldn't listen to me," _Ciel explained with his inner voice.

"Knock it off, psychic," Shepard's words were enough to get him in trouble once more. The Captain and Frank gave him the gravest of looks as Ciel turned away offended. Everyone, save Ciel and Shepard, had no clue that they had been talking on a telepathic level; to them Shepard was just being insulting.

"That's enough Lt. Cm. You, Commander Garland, and Ciel are coming with me," The Captain commanded as she operated the elevator door. "There will be no more incidents, will there Lt. Cm.?" The Captain rhetorically asked.

"No ma'am," Shepard droned reluctant to admit that he had done any wrong. Frank offered his help to send him to the balcony but was pushed away in return. Valance gave a disapproving frown to Shepard and his disrespect to his Commanding officer. Ciel hovered past Valance, ignoring Joshua's stabbing glare as he passed him by. Locking his shoes between the guard rails, Ciel stood up and reached for the Commander just has he had done with Valance. The Commander smiled briefly as Ciel pulled him forward.

"Please don't tell me he's like that all the time," Ciel said laughing a little.

"Be happy you don't have to baby sit him all the time," Cm. Garland chuckled as they headed into the elevator. Ciel felt oddly at peace as his hand came into contact with the Commanders; the sensation was in a sense calming and heartening and very much enjoyed under the circumstances.

Once inside the elevator Ciel snuggly placed himself between Shepard and Frank with the Captain facing all three of them. In his childish disgust Shepard shimmied away from Ciel as if he were plagued with some despicable disease; Garland could only laugh inwardly with Ciel as the Captain rolled her eyes.

"My name is Ciel Godsend by the way," Ciel said introducing himself to the Commander. Frank smiled and shook Ciel's hand transferring that peaceful sensation once more.

The moment was cut short by Shepard's sneering voice.

"Yeah, by the way, that's a really queer name," Shepard jeered.

"Shepard!" Both the Captain and the Commander reprimanded him in unison. The only thing keeping Ciel from bursting out with hysterical laughter was the presence of the Captain.

"I'm Commander Franklin Garland, a pleasure," The youth smiled.

---Captain's Quarters

"Permission to speak, Captain," Shepard did his best to control himself as his anger came to a boiling point.

"Permission granted," The Captain said wishing she had a pair of earmuffs to block out the tantrum that would follow.

"In all due respect, Captain, but this decision to allow a civilian to pilot the Gundam is totally unrealistic! He hasn't had any training in the military and does not understand the mechanism nor the instruments required to operate the mobile suit; going through with this would endanger the entire crew, as well as your reputation!" Shepard said switching his furious gaze between Ciel and the Captain. Ciel bit his lip and looked down at the floor in disgrace.

"What did you see when you were with Ciel, Lt.?" The Captain interjected with her point. Shepard did not take her question lightly or respectfully like he had said.

"What do you mean 'what did I see'?" The Lt. angrily questioned.

"We recorded the battle data when we were at Leigas, Joshua - that boy understood the Gundam and how it worked the moment he stepped into that cockpit; the activation of the BIOsensor system is proof enough," the Captain calmly reasoned.

"If he's never piloted before then how did he know? The Gundam isn't a toy nor is it some kind of video game!" Shepard countered her argument with the account of maturity and experience.

"May I speak Captain Lori?" Ciel said stepping forward only slightly. His voice shook a little which only helped to make him feel inadequate and weak.

"You may speak Mr. Godsend," The Captain said favoring another point of view. Shepard shot a glare at the boy with the intention of scaring the words out of him; luckily it didn't even faze him.

"While I may not understand it fully, when I was piloting I was in some time of induced trance – like I could see everything. When I sat down in the cockpit and took the controls in my hands, I could feel the machine; I understood it without actually knowing before hand. I've had some experience with hauler suits in my line of work but never a military machine. If I knew more about what happened to me back there I could tell you," Ciel admitted. Shepard jumped at the chance to support his argument.

"The civilian even admits that it was a fluke. It was a bad idea from start to finish Captain; we cannot risk everyone's life in the expense that he help us," Shepard stepped forward with fists clenched at his sides. The Captain would not be denied.

"Your concern is also my concern, and that is why I have asked that the boy pilot for everyone's benefit," the Captain calmly expressed to Shepard.

"Ma'am, I know that you're and advocate and devout supporter of the Newtypes, but that aside we cannot operate on a guess or an invisible hope!" Shepard risked bringing up the Captain's political stances which would be his downfall.

"You've gone far enough Lt. Cm.; do not overstep those boundaries again!" The Captain snapped in a tone far fiercer than Shepard's. "The reason why I have decided this is not because of my beliefs – far from it – I have seen what he can do on the battle field and I saw what he did in the hangar!"

"I will not let you endanger the crew or our comrades!" Shepard had crossed the line. Ciel could see Shepard's concern but he thought well enough to handle the situation differently. The Lt.'s words had planted the seeds of doubt in Ciel's thoughts.

"Enough Lt. Cm., I hold this ship and its crew as a top priority and don't you dare tell me otherwise or there will be consequences! That young man can do things that we cannot do and we need his help; if you wish to see the proof of his abilities then look no further than the catastrophic devastation he extracted on the enemy. I gave him the option to help and he accepted it," the Captain thundered. Ciel looked at her in surprise to her description. He didn't know whether to take it as a compliment or as a warning.

"I would be much more comfortable if Valance and I were to prep the boy before hand should anything happen," Commander Garland finally stepped forward to establish some order to the argument. Shepard turned around giving his CO a look that could have killed had it been possible. Cm. Garland ignored him while his focus remained entirely on Ciel.

"That was what I had in mind Cm.; Valance has yet to set the sensitivity levels on the interface. That is why I wanted you and Mr. Godsend to accompany each other," Captain Lori referred to her last plan of action. She swiveled in her chair to Ciel and gave him a warm smile. The boy had been the object of their furious argument so there was an atmosphere of distrust that hovered amongst them; the Captain sought to boost Ciel's morale in light of the discussion.

"It is your choice Mr. Godsend. You have the choice to pilot and assist us; the option is still open for you to take," the Captain's offer stood out as a ray of hope that Ciel was trusted by at least one individual present.

Ignoring Shepard was difficult to do seeing as his points seemed logical. There was however, the pressing realization that his friends may still be alive and need his protection. His friends and those who still lived were still the object of his passion.

"I accept, I will pilot," Ciel nodded solemnly as the Commander beside him smiled slightly; the look on Lt. Cm. Shepard's face was priceless.

"Then it is settled. Ciel will pilot the ROC and Joshua will be reassigned to the Gelgoog Command type; the Commander will be piloting the Core Gundam," the Captain ordered. "Ciel, I would like you to wait in the Pilots lounge while the Commander finds you a normal suit and a uniform. From there we'll begin testing and prep you for combat status!"

With that the Commander and Lt. Cm. gave a crisp salute. Ciel looked their ways confused and then snapped to attention and did the same. They exited the Captain's quarters and headed to the hangers. On their way out, the Co-Captain entered only briefly giving a salute as she passed them.

---Captains quarters in private ---

The atmosphere had calmed down as Moira stepped into the room with the door closing behind her. She shook her head back and forth with a smile as she stepped forward towards Captain Lori.

"Quite a ruckus you've managed to kick up; I'm surprised that the Lt. Cm. didn't get into a fist fight with you," Moira commented as she made a B-line straight for her partner.

"We both know he wouldn't have lasted one minute with me," the Captain said leaning back as Moira approached her with a steady look in her eyes; the sight of her forced her to curl her toes in anticipation.

"Indeed," Moira said as she had been caught up in the Captain's arms forcing her to sit in her lap, "However do you think that sending the boy out to pilot was a good idea?"

"Jonan, darling, we must stop meeting like this," the Captain joked in a higher girly tone as she giggled. The moments of privacy they had together were precious and few, and among their most treasured of experiences no matter how short.

"I believe so my love, I don't question what I've seen," The Captain's green eyes sparkled with heavenly delight as Moira's brunette hair brushed against her neck; the scent of her perfume was as intoxicating as the rosebud wine they had shared on one of their many dates previous before.

"I don't question you at all, but I am genuinely concerned," Moira then tapped into her lover's thoughts with the faintest of whispers, _"I only want you to be safe."_

"I second that; but what other things am I thinking right now?" Lori teased Moira with many more levels of understanding than one. The Co-Captain beat her to the finish line and kissed her lips in a hold that they wished could have lasted for so much longer. They both resisted the temptation and focused on what needed to be done; should they be successful they each had in mind a short vacation to L1's November five.

---Pilots Lounge---

There he sat against the window looking at the stars with the same wonderment he had when he was Leigas; they were numerous and brilliant as they blanketed the black of space. So much had happened in the short amount of time he had been at the colony up to this point and it was difficult to process. Ciel's eyes began to spark as he focused in and out of his vision; he returned his gaze to the navy blue booklet given to him by Ms. Swanson. He thought that if anything, if he couldn't understand what was happening this small book would guide him in knowledge. He skipped the beginning and made a B-line straight for specific chapters.

_Chapter II: The HARVEST_

_"The individual is gifted with the ability to unlock and release potential; the symbol of this human potential is called the SEED (Superior Evolutionary Element Destined-factor). The capability to use the SEED is dependant upon the person and how it is used. With its discovery it has been found that all possess the SEED, but not all chose to use or recognize it. Until the arrival of the new consciousness, the Newtype, the SEED had only been known to burst forth and bring about intense concentration and sharpened focus. _

_Like any other Seed, the SEED itself can be cultivated and nurtured with an array of different approaches; depending on what the SEED is refined with will determine what it will progress into in the next stage. Memory, emotion, circumstance, and thought are the nourishment needed to make the SEED sprout and grow. When the SEED is ready, it will blossom with its stored potential and become the object of its form; the capacity to take and use that grown potential is called the HARVEST (Hyper Adaptation Retrieval Variable Extra Sensory Technique)."_

Ciel stopped a moment to process the information. He thought about what had happened at Leigas and put that knowledge to explain how and why things happened the way they did. His telepathy had given him enough warning when he felt an impending fear tearing at him in the lab corridor. That fear had to have led the SEED to unleash a certain amount of probability that formed a tactile telekinetic barrier which protected the PLANT from the enemy's fire. Ciel thought even harder about what exactly had happened when he first experienced his trance like state when he witnessed the deaths of the two ZAFT pilots. A sense of longing for the lost and a realization of life and death came to mind immediately, after acknowledging the sorrow he felt afterwards. Such rage over the loss of just men pushed him over the edge when he comprehended their self-sacrifice. Even before that entire ordeal he had been teeming with quantum energy that began affecting the environment around him.

"Are Newtypes the only ones capable of the HARVEST?" he spoke aloud. He continued reading.

_"As far as it has been known, the only individuals to be able to utilize the HARVEST are Newtypes."_

"I guess that answers my question," Ciel said rolling his eyes.

_"During the HARVEST (mode) many changes occur both in the body and in the mind. Due to the overwhelming amount of kinetic force and other unknown energies detected, the body can undergo a series of changes. There have been known cases where the eyes can change color and display an abundance of radiant light; hair has also been known to change its color. Certain instances conclude that the body can be influenced through psychokinetic manipulation that may increase the body's resistance to extreme conditions, demonstrate an increased rate in cell production, and carry out tasks with boosted telekinetic/telepathic activity. _

_The HARVEST is a trance that allows the individual to experience reality on different levels of perception. The time and space continuum can fluctuate dramatically when in this altered state in consciousness, upping physical and mental reaction times to coordinator levels and beyond. Telekinetic and psychokinetic (TK, and PK) are influenced tremendously during the HARVEST. A list of heightened abilities can be found in chapter V."_

Ciel wasted no time in his curiosity and flipped through the books pages fervently; before chapter V could come up, his eyes caught a steam of words that peaked his interest. He stopped and flipped back until he found the page once again; the Newtype boy was stunned by this revelation.

_"…Though ongoing research has yet to elaborate on such a fascinating concept, the idea behind Latent Activation remains controversial. The human mind is made up of different levels of complexity, and the theory that the most powerful potential lies at its deepest point of origin remains debatable. The specifics of such a state of mind clearly indicate that the most mysterious part of the psyche is utilized to an extent. Studies on Latent Activation conclude thus far that under rare circumstances having a heightened level of pressure or impending emotion can evoke abnormal NT levels yet to be recorded. Some physical changes that have been known to occur are the darkening of the iris and voice pitch changes. It is believed that only a handful of the Newtype population are ever able to achieve Latent Activation once in their lifetime."_

When things had gotten too out of hand in Leigas, Ciel could feel a part of himself conjure something from the depths of his heart. Even though the book had done an excellent job of calming his nerves, this one concept terrified him to the core. He had been both aware and unaware of the state which only furthered his reasoning that such a condition of altered conscious was dangerous and unpredictable.

He leaned his head back against the lounge couch's arm and exhaled a sigh so stressful it was exhausting; perhaps he really didn't understand anything about himself. Questions only helped to bring about more questions. Just as he returned to the book the airlock doors opened up putting a stop to his quiet time.

"The motors were completely shot so we had to fix the whole damn energy core," A younger female voice grasped Ciel's attention as the conversation continued.

"I heard that they're going to be sending us an updated mobile suit OS soon. I get so sick and tired of beginning with processes 655 through 791; total pain in the ass I swear," Another female voice complained, thought this tone was much deeper and tougher sounding.

"We don't have that problem with the Gelgoog's or the Kampher units, so I guess we're lucky," The distinct voice of Valance joined in as Ciel turned to look at the crowd entering the room. There leading the group was the Commander holding a uniform with a safe suit draped over his shoulder. The group of new faces stopped and looked bewildered at the teenager's appearance.

"Sorry to keep you waiting for so long, Ciel. I got you a uniform and a safe suit for you from the storage," Commander Garland said with a brisk smile while he held up both the uniform and safe suit. He noticed Ciel eyeing the others around him and took it upon himself to introduce everyone.

"Oh, here, I'll introduce you. This is-" Frank had been interrupted by a five foot seven brunette with dark brown eyes. Her energy and friendliness was in abundant supply.

"I'm Ensign Lodi Delbarton, I've heard all about you and what you did at the colony," She said as she floating lightly over to the couch where Ciel lay while the others approached from behind.

"These are Adrian and Addison Irish, also known as the Irish brothers," Frank said as two identical twins, both having cobalt blue hair and robins egg colored eyes, stood before Ciel each giving their own wave or nod in acknowledgment.

"A good to meet yah, I've got to say you dress an unusual taste my friend," Adrian spoke up with a full blown Irish accent.

"Don't mind this dolt; he's the dumber one," Addison spoke jokingly with a completely unaccented reply; the difference in their language seriously baffled Ciel for a moment. The two brothers fought with one another exchanging small teasing blows.

"And you've already met Shepard," Valance said raising his eyebrows in recalling the Lt. Cm.'s rudeness. Joshua slipped on past the crowd giving Ciel the deadliest of looks before deviating to sit at the bar. The silver eyed pilot could have cared less about the boy's presence.

"So you're the boy named Ciel Godsend?" A purely rich female voice said perking up from behind Commander Garland. She was stunning as well as daunting at first sight. She had the reddest shade of hair this side of Naomi's eyes, while professing a concrete expression of genuineness that was breathtaking and alluring.

"Yes, that would be me, its good to meet you all," Ciel said sitting up while caught up in the eyes of the female in question. "And who are you?"

"I'm Lieutenant Electra Annandale," She spoke making a hand gesture towards herself. "I have a quick question."

"Um, okay, ask away," Ciel said putting on a serious face.

"I was told about everything that happened at Leigas, so don't sugar coat a single detail," Ciel gulped at her tone which seemed to command absolute truth with importance, "The two pilots you witnessed, the ones that died…the one that was still alive, did he say anything?" Electra said trying desperately trying her hardest to contain herself as Ciel sensed a grave meaning behind her question.

"Well no actually, things had happened so quickly we didn't have a chance to say anything to each other," Ciel did however recall the fact that just before the shit hit the fan he began to sing a hymn like song passage to the pilot. He refrained from telling such foolishness seeing as he didn't understand the concept of why or what that purpose served.

"Then tell me," Electra said stepping forward with tone changing to one of yearning, "Did he…pass on without pain?"

Ciel couldn't bear to say the truth about the subject. The boy's insides felt cold and empty like there was a void somewhere inside of him. Rejecting his own opinions he just managed to say what he thought had happened.

"When we were pelted with anti-personnel fire he dove on me and we fell a little. I tried asking if he was alright but he had been long gone before I realized anything at all. I'm truly sorry," Ciel professed his empathy as best he could to the extent of his comfort. The thoughts of losing someone he loved resounded with a reflection of his friends. He could tell that this Electra girl was torn at his explanation.

Electra turned with all eyes on her as she hovered towards the entryway with no hurry. She stopped shy of the door and just waited there with her head slightly angled towards the ground. With a speed that could not be detected she took a fist and rammed in into the door dial, literally breaking it into pieces without the slightest hint of discomfort. Her fist fell at her side and she slowly exited towards the mobile suit hangar; the unholy silence was broken with a comment from Shepard.

"Beautiful job, I thought for sure you'd rape her mind to find out that she had feelings for the man – it would seem that you got sloppy," Shepard said taking a sip of a packaged drink.

"No one asked you, Blue Cosmos. It goes against the ethical code to emotional and mental privacy. She asked me not to sugar coat anything, so don't bite my head off for being honest," Ciel shot a furious glare at Shepard.

Out of the corner of his eye he spied a camouflage colored satchel bag hovering close to his vicinity. Shepard figured it was Ciel's so he decided to indulge himself. Flipping the cover over he began taking out its contents which only consisted of a drawing supplies, reading materials (which hardly took his interest), music player, and a sketch book.

"That's my stuff you know," Ciel said pointing out the obvious. Shepard ignored as he flipped through the pages taking some interest in the art. Lodi hovered over interrupting Ciel.

"Dude, your pants are awesome! Do you by any chance like Rin Den Gray?" The female pilot said inquiring. Ciel was ecstatic.

"I love Rin Den Grey! They're supposed to be touring to L2 and L1 sometime this year or so I hear; I was so disappointed that they weren't coming to Leigas!" Ciel said smiling with brightness unrivaled. They were interrupted by Shepard who had been holding the sketch book in his hands.

"Say, what the hell is this thing?" Shepard said holding out a page of the sketchbook that he had incidentally torn out on purpose. Ciel grew tired of his attitude.

"Stop it! Don't pull things out of my sketch book, that's my art; and for your information that drawing is of a Phoenix!" Ciel said readying his telekinesis to withdrawal his things from Shepard's grasp. Valance, the Irish brothers, and Lodi congregated around the picture to take a closer look for themselves. All of them were very impressed with the art.

"Looks like a fire fly to me," Shepard said putting the page back into the sketchbook. He put all of the contents back to its rightful place and chucked it at Ciel.

"Fuck off, Shepard, there's no reason to be sore at the fella," Adrian said stepping forward clearly detesting the Lt. Cm.'s comments. Shepard ignored and continued to do nothing but take up space.

"That's enough, we need to prep Ciel for piloting the ROC, and we have little time to do so," the Commander said giving Ciel his uniform.

"The last thing we need is to be caught off guard," Valance said as he quickly exited for the mobile suit hangars.

---Mobile Weapon Hangar

"Your reaction time between switching between systems is a little delayed so use the auto load to use different weaponry," Valance instructed from just outside the ROC's docking mechanism which housed the PAWN Strike. The cockpit hatch remained open so that Commander Garland could give instructions during the simulation. Valance occasionally became entangled in the wire connections leading out of the Gundam which were connected to his workstation laptop.

Ciel's eyes began to glow with a ferocious rage that hinted at the use of his Newtype abilities; the Commander couldn't help but stare in quiet admiration while he assisted the boy.

"We're going to try something to trip you up now – Valance, insert a multiple enemy challenge into the simulation," Cm. Garland said as he hovered from behind Ciel's seat. The cockpit had been completely revalued to have a fully panoramic sight display which gave Ciel the impression that he was flying through space. The stars that passed him by as he 'flew' turned to streaking lights that zipped in and out of perspective as he maneuvered. Six Dagger units appeared in the simulation and targeted the ROC immediately; Ciel had been ready for their approach.

"Now, remember what I told you about the INCOM's (Intervention Newtype Controlled Offensive Medium); focus in with the Gundam's interface and command the weapons to release," the Commander instructed to Ciel as he quickly finished off two of the enemy with a sweep of the mega particle cannons. Valance was being kept on his feet by the boys piloting skills; what was frightening was the fact that this was only his second try at the simulation after a single 'game over'. Ciel was improving at a terrifying pace.

From the front and side compartments of the ROC a total of thirteen sphere like cable connected weapons shot out in multiple directions. Ciel's inner sight splintered, allowing him to see in multiple directions and feel the spacious void in which he flew. The remote devices zigzagged in and out of the enemy formations causing a great amount of confusion; all while Ciel evaded enemy fire as he systematically eliminated the enemy suits with the Newtype controlled weapons. Great explosions enveloped the suits which then completely disappeared from the simulation as Ciel called the weapons back into the ROC's containment units. Valance and the Commander shot each other with a look of shock and wonder.

"Very good, Ciel, you have no problem with the NT weapons on board; no abnormalities detected at all," Valance said as he shook his head back and forth in disbelief. The boy needed little assistance from the quantum computers which only added to the trepidation expressed by both the Commander and himself.

"Be sure when you maneuver with the central joystick not to stress evasion; the unit is very nimble for a mobile weapon and it will lessen power usage," Commander Garland said steadying Ciel's hands as he grasped the joystick in front of him. Within that very moment Ciel had laid waste to an Agamemnon ship and its two supporting Drake-class battleships with a combination of both the double mega cannons and a Thor missile cluster; Valance had just about given up with the simulation at this point.

In a surprise twist, Valance added a Gundam to the mix. The ensuing chaos that followed was typically prolonged. Ciel dove in and out of its effective range from its beam weapons and followed up with an INCOM strike. The enemy Gundam had been caught up in a shower of random shots from every direction which served as a quick distraction. As the Buster-esque Gundam laid down a barrage to effectively disable most of the NT weapons, Ciel fired a single round of bazooka shells and quickly dove beneath the distracted enemy. The mobile suit was able to catch the live munitions before any sort of impact. One remaining INCOM unit that managed to escape destruction fired a single beam through the Gundam's coil gun, rendering the long range weapon useless.

"Now you have no choice!" Ciel muttered as he faced the Gundam from below. He charged forward while accessing the gargantuan claw like appendages which unfolded into a typical bird leg shape from the weapons underbelly. From each consecutive 'claw' a massive beam saber erupted with a flash of pink, each one ridiculously elongated like a group of spears. The Gundam saw this and faced its enemy ready for a close encounter; the withdrawing of its close range beam javelin was apparent enough. The two combatants clashed violently in a 'drive by' encounter which resulted in the loss of one of the mega beam cannon/claw arms of the ROC; the Gundam remained relatively unharmed.

"Tough little bastard," Ciel acknowledge the virtual enemy's ability to fight, "But hey, I hope you like the present I left you,"

Ciel's hint was made bluntly obvious as a cluster of shrapnel mines that had been deposited during the confrontation, detonated. The enemy's phase shift saved it from oblivion but the shock wave that resulted could not be helped. Just as the enemy stabilized its movements three spinning beam boomerangs guided by Ciel's telekinesis came screaming into view. With a simple boost the enemy mobile suit evaded one attack, but the second wave had taken its arm and part of its torso; luckily the third assault was avoided, sparing the other arm.

"We're even now," Ciel sighed as he concentrated on manipulating the movements of the remote beam weapons. The CIWS (Close Intervention Weapon System) of the Gundam quickly disposed two out of the three boomerangs in a spectacular display of accuracy and foresight. Before the Gundam could contemplate it, its leg had been severed above the knee by the third beam boomerang which was coming back around for another attack.

"Damn that thing and its persistence!" Ciel commented as he reached deeper and deeper into the simulation. The 'Buster' like Gundam only reminded him of the similar model that he had destroyed in Leigas. Unlike this one, the pilot had been careless enough to do nothing; now there was someone at least remotely competent to operate the machine.

With the swipe of its beam javelin the Gundam deflected the boomerang, which was rendered relatively irrecoverable because of its erratic change in movement. Savagely, Ciel enabled the beam spray weapons built into the 'bird head' of the unit and fired away. Red hot beams of light stabbed through the Gundam's armor leading to its dramatic end in an explosion of light. The simulation ended.

"Now if you can do that in real time, I'll be extra impressed," Valance said shaking his head out of disbelief. The Commander just smiled as Ciel wiped the sweat from his forehead; he had been smart to pull his hair back into a pony tail before hand.

"You were incredible, Ciel. I'm more than happy to have you as my wingman," the Commander successfully made Ciel blush a bright shade of red with his comment. Ciel did his best to hide it as he exited the Gundam.

"So how well did I do?" He asked as he held onto the top latch while Valance pulled himself to the machine.

"You got an overall score of 82, that qualifies as an early A rank by military standards," Valance said in bewilderment.

"Should you ever choose to, you'd be an excellent pilot for the military with the right training," Garland said as he patted Ciel on the back for his skills.

"With the way he is, I don't think he'd need it," Valance jokingly smiled while giving Ciel a noogie. The moment was cut short by a gut busting alarm followed by a message over the loud speakers.

"Is that the battle ready alert?!" Ciel said as his heart jumped out of his skin.

**ALERT!!**

**ALERT!!**

**Enemy detected at indigo, beta seventy-two! All pilots scramble! I repeat all pilots scramble immediately. Prepare for mobile suit interception!**

Ciel turned to the Commander with eyes wide while an expression of panic formed on his face.

"Frank, what now?!" Ciel said grasping for answers. The Commander could tell that the boy was terrified by the look of things and had a small pang of regret about the Captain's decision. Even though he had that shred of doubt he respected the Captain and believed in the boy.

"Listen, just be ready in the ROC; It will be prepped and supplied automatically. You'll be launched shortly thereafter. Remember the launching protocol instructions I told you. You don't even need to be in the battle vicinity should you choose it, just be within range to provide support – that's all," the Commander could see the boy's fear gaining ground as he looked into his eyes. "You'll be just fine, I'll be out there right along side of you the whole time. I'm lookin out for you okay?" Frank said taking both of the boy's shoulders in his hands.

"The same to you, sir," Ciel added as he nodded while entering the cockpit. Sitting down and strapping himself in, Ciel cold feel his heart beating at a dangerous pace through his safe suit. In a single fluid motion he activated the unit's start up which closed the hatch – then there was darkness.

In that moment of the purest of silence Ciel could only concentrate on the sound of his terrified breathing inside his helmet as the darkness swallowed him. Within the fraction of a single second until the unit's screen display activated and the consoles lit up, Ciel had to fend for himself as his mind raced out of control. There had been few instances where he had found himself losing control, but this was an experience that called out the worst of his fears. As the boy sat there in the darkness he was overcome by conflicting aspects of his thoughts which resulted in calling forth a mediator. As the darkness faded and made way for light Ciel lifted his head with eyes filled with pure instinctual wrath. The darkness in the cockpit had disappeared; the only remaining amount of black remained captured in the Newtype boy's irises as a torch of light pulsed from their center.

_"I feel it rise within me…"_

---

**Ending Song: Colors by Hikaru Utada**


End file.
